Flames of Gold
by celestia193
Summary: Aang was not the only lost soul floating around the South Pole. but unlike his hundred year sleep, the girl would have frozen to death, were it not for Sokka and Katara's timely intervention. But who is she? And why does she carry so many secrets? I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender. OC is mine, nothing else. Canon pairings, mostly. Except Zuko, he gets the OC, (poor Mai :P)
1. One Hundred Years Ago

Water…

Earth...

Fire…

Air…

My Grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days: a time of peace, when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation and Air Nomads.

But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

Only the Avatar mastered all four elements; only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

A hundred years have passed, and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe.

Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow, the Avatar will return to save the world.

* * *

But, there is another story to consider…

Five years before Fire Lord Sozin's invasion of the world, and annihilation of the Air nomads. He began by conquering his own land.

To the west, the Fire Lord, ruling the mainland of the Fire Nation. And to the east, in the direction of the sun, was the Phoenix King, the lord of the Eastern Isles, the rich and vibrant lands of the archipelago. Gold, jewels, and most valuable of all, the royal family who resided there, guarding a special power, passed from parent to child, proof of their heritage.

To conquer the Fire Nation, and unite it under a single banner, Sozin carried out his coup, catching his rivals by surprise, in the dead of night, killing most, and branding those who remained, so that they would never challenge him again. To fight, or live, that was their choice. And to drive the knife further, Sozin banished them from their home, forcing them to seek shelter elsewhere.

But distance and banishment would not protect them.

And here…is where a young girl's story begins…


	2. A Princess in Exile

My life has not been easy. I've been without a family since I was six. That was when they were all killed, and I was branded as a traitor and exile, and left to die like a dog. Metal spikes were embedded in my back, patterned as a lily, the symbol of my family. It's meant to be a symbol of highest dishonor, to be born into the life that I have.

Fire Lord Ozai branded me himself, for his own, grasping ambitions. He is determined to never let me forget what I am. Because I am the heiress of the house that was exiled for treason. A trussed up charge that Fire Lord Sozin invented a hundred years ago when he conquered the world. His act unified the Fire Nation, combining the east and west into one.

Like the king of Ba Sing Se, and the king of Omashu, both in the Earth Kingdom. There were once two families who ruled the Fire Nation, one on the mainland, one in the eastern islands. Now there is only one. The royals of the east were killed, for the most part, and the rest, exiled. And every time that a child is born in our family, the Fire Lord comes and brands us.

And now, I'm the only one left, the last princess of the eastern royals. The metal in my back proves that. And even more than that, it conveys a death sentence upon me. If I were normal, and branded this way, it wouldn't matter. But this kind of brand is used because every single member of my family has a special gift. The gift of golden fire. I am a firebender.

So, after my family is massacred by the Fire Lord's men, I run. And I don't stop running. I spend years running around the Earth Kingdom, never staying in one place long enough for anyone to really get to know me. I'm cautious and careful, not at all like the free-spirited child I used to be. I'm fifteen now, and I'm no longer the weak little girl that I used to be.

My travels take me to many different places, and of course, I always hide the fact that I'm a bender. I'm an experienced fighter, so I have no problem with ruffians, but if anyone figured out that I happen to be a firebender, things would quickly get out of hand.

* * *

To my utter dismay, when I get to the southern coast of the Earth Kingdom, I run into exactly the kind of trouble that I've been trying to avoid. There is a Fire Navy ship, and there are people on board. So I try to sneak away as quietly as possible, looking for another part of the coast to make camp.

No such luck, as a patrol of soldiers find me on their way back to the ship. "Hey, who are you girl? What are you doing out here?"

My hands twitch, and I look for the best possible escape route. But since I stay silent, they get suspicious. "Are you a runaway, or maybe just looking to have a little adventure? If you are, we can help with that."

The soldiers leer at me, so I glare right back at them, and then bolt. I strike at each of them, tripping them and sending them on a one-way face-plant trip to the ground. My cloak flaps in the breeze, and the hood barely stays over my hair. But my escape is cut short when a boy, barely older than I am, steps out of the trees that line the coast and stares at me.

"Who are you?" His tone is stern and firm, and immediately, I know that he's the one in charge of the soldiers. He has a pompous air of command about him.

I just glare at him. "Well wouldn't you like to know? But I won't tell you so move aside and I'll be on my way. I have no reason to hurt you, yet, so why don't we just part ways here and you go on and forget that you ever saw me?"

My attitude only seems to make him more determined. "No, you'll tell me who you are, and then you'll go on your way."

My hand twitches once, and then I make a break for it and sprint right past him. But he's fast, I'll give him credit for that, and he catches my wrist just as I turn to kick him in the head. He manages to catch my foot as well, which means that he's well trained, and probably a bender, like me. My hood tumbles around my shoulders and his eyes widen as he gets a good look at me.

 _Damn it all, of all the people I had to run into, why did it have to be a firebender? Why couldn't it just be some normal pirates or raiders, or even just sailors? I have to have the worst luck in all of recorded history._

I jump up and kick at him with my other leg, forcing him to let go of me and block the strike, and that gives me an opening to run. But I don't get far as his soldiers surround me. I bite my lip and curse my bad luck. "Damn it all. Why the hell do I have to run into Fire Nation troops here?"

The boy's eyes narrow. "So, you're not fond of firebenders. You act suspiciously. And what kind of girl goes off on an adventure all by herself? You're even younger than me."

I just keep glaring at him. "What kind of girl am I?" Then I smirk. "One that's way too much for you to handle."

I crouch to the ground, brace myself on my hands and spin around, sweeping all of their feet out from under them with flashes of gold fire. And with that accomplished, I start running, faster than ever, trying to outpace them and get into a good hiding spot before they can give chase.

"Capture her!" And at the boy's order, I hear a dozen pairs of feet stomping after me.

"Ah shit, this is going to get messy." I turn around and see them coming at me, fast. I haven't slept in a couple of days, so I'm hardly in my best condition for fighting, but I'll have to make do. So I blast them with a huge golden fireball and hope that it deters them from advancing on me.

But it doesn't, and they just keep coming at me again and again, forcing me to expend a lot more energy that I was hoping to. And finally, when my energy is running out, the boy approaches me. "Will you surrender now? Or do you want me to hurt you?"

I glare at him. "Go to hell, I won't surrender to the likes of you." I note the large scar that flares out around his left eye, obviously the product of some horrible firebender duel. His hair is mostly shaved, except for one patch on top of his head that's pulled back in a ponytail. All in all, he looks like he should be in a gang, not the military.

He glares right back. "I'll get answers out of you one way or another."

I barely notice in time that a soldier has gotten behind me, and as I spin around to deal with him, the boy creeps up on me and smacks me hard in the back of the neck, knocking me out in one smooth movement.

* * *

I wake up, chained up in a ship. I blink my eyes until my vision clears, then I take a look around and try to assess my situation. I'm locked up, and judging by the rocking, I'm on a ship, his ship, probably. So I'm confined, trapped, and probably going to be interrogated.

And right on cue, the boy comes in, frowning and glaring. That makes me smile. "You know, if you keep making that face, it'll get stuck that way. Or is it already stuck? That would explain why you haven't changed your expression even once."

His expression goes even colder, strange for a firebender. "Who are you? And why did you attack my men?"

I roll my eyes. "I'm a girl, traveling, and I attacked them because they went after me first. I don't whore myself out like a girl on the streets, I have more dignity and self-respect than that. Obviously, your men thought otherwise. So, I punished them for their insolence. And you got involved."

His glare doesn't leave his face. "Well, that explains the attack, but not who you are. Now talk. What is a rogue firebender doing traveling around the Earth Kingdom?"

I stick my tongue out at him. "How about, no? A girl has to have her secrets, and my identity happens to be one of them." Then I raise an eyebrow. "Though knowing who my captor is would be nice. That way, I can know how bad the trouble is going to be when I escape."

His glare still stays put. "I am Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation."

And my earlier smile vanishes completely from my face. "I see. And if you captured me by coincidence, then fate sure has a funny way of making things play out."

The air around me thickens, and I glare harshly at him. And without even a warning, everything in the room explodes. Golden fire races around and the chains holding me shatter. I drop to the floor, grab my things, and then sprint out of the room before Zuko can manage to get up.

I race out onto the deck and see that we're already sailing. _Well crap, that's just perfect, now what do I do?_ I look around for a means of escape, but see nothing. _I guess this means that I'll have to swim until I find something solid. I would rather die by drowning than stay on this ship._

It seems that I will have to resort to those lengths, because Zuko has followed me up onto the deck, along with a contingent of his soldiers. There is a storm brewing overhead, so my escape is really starting to look iffy.

"Give up! There is nowhere for you to run!" His eyes are hard and glow with an angry fire. But I'll not be giving him the satisfaction of keeping hold of me.

"Bite me." I growl at him, the run to the edge of the ship and jump over the side, diving into the water and swimming as far as I can before coming back up for air.

Once I have a good distance from the ship, I continue swimming, until I find that the water is becoming terribly cold. I start shivering in the water, until I see a piece of ice floating by me. _Ice? I must be in the southern seas. How far did that damned ship travel?_

I pull myself up onto the piece of ice, and I dry myself off by radiating heat from my body. I keep myself warm by drawing on my inner fire, despite not having a lot of energy to spare. But because of the effort, I do the worst possible thing to do when you're cold. I lie down and go to sleep.


	3. The Avatar Returns

I never expect to wake up, which is why I'm surprised when I find myself snuggled under blankets with a girl, a couple of years younger than me. She's warm, and the blankets are warm as well. I look around and see that this is a tent, and underneath the furs and blankets is a bed of ice.

Because of my fidgeting, the girl wakes up. She blinks at me, then her eyes widen. "Oh, you're awake, good." She smiles at me. "My brother and I found you floating out on the ocean. We thought that you'd died, but somehow, you were still alive. So we brought you here and tended to you. You mostly just needed warming up."

I sit up, to find that my clothes have been changed. "Thank you. I actually did think that I was going to die out there." I get out of the bed and find that my own clothes have been washed, dried, and are folded neatly in a corner. So I start stripping off the new clothes and I change back into mine, despite the fact that they're travel-worn and the colors are fading.

The girl watches me carefully, her gaze gentle and kind. "So how did you end up floating out on a piece of ice? Your clothes don't look like ours, so you're obviously not from around here."

I glance back at her. "I was running away from someone who was trying to pry answers out of me. Thankfully, he probably thinks that I'm dead now. I mean, I did jump off the side of his ship right into the ocean."

"I see, that must have been hard." Her voice is soft and kind. "I'm Katara, and my brother Sokka helped to rescue you. What's your name?"

I finish with my clothes and stretch a little, finding that my cold joints are a bit stiff. "My name is Ciara. I've been traveling around the Earth Kingdom for the last few years. Well, until that Fire Nation boy caught me and tried to interrogate me. But I'll probably never see him again, so it's nothing to worry about. He probably thinks that I died trying to swim away from his ship, and that my body is at the bottom of the ocean."

"Wow, that sounds horrible." She gets up and puts on an outer layer of clothes that looks really warm. "So Ciara, where do you plan to go now?"

I shrug. "I don't know. I've been looking for somewhere safe for a long time. But I haven't found a place that's safe enough for me to stop for a while. The most I've ever stayed in one place is probably about two weeks."

"Then why don't you stay here?" She smiles as she slips a warm coat around me and fastens it. "The South Pole is probably one of the safest places there is. The Fire Nation hasn't been here in a long time. And no one is going to turn you in, we all hate them here."

I tilt my head and my gaze softens. "I see. Then maybe I will stay a while, if your people will allow it."

"You may stay as long as you like, young one." An elderly woman comes into the tent and looks at me kindly. "If you have nowhere to go, then you may stay. But where is your family? They must be worried."

My gaze drops to the ground. "I'm an orphan. My family was killed by Fire Nation soldiers a long time ago. I've been on my own ever since. I was the only one they left alive, probably because they thought that I was dead." I barely suppress a bitter laugh. "Seems like I'm pretty good at playing dead."

"Now, now, let's get you acquainted with the village. If you're going to stay here, then you should at least see the rest of the village."

Katara eagerly takes me by the hand and pulls me out of the tent. She takes me all around the village and introduces me to her brother, Sokka, as well as all of the village children, and the women. The men are all off fighting in the war, or so Sokka has told me. And I find out that the old lady is the village elder, Katara and Sokka's grandmother.

So, since they've been so kind as to give me a place to stay, I help out with the chores and looking after the children. They all love my stories about my travels. And I regale them with legends from all over the Earth Kingdom.

* * *

About two weeks into my stay with the tribe, Katara and Sokka go out for a day-long fishing trip, and come back with a boy. He has strange tattoos, and a flying bison. That can only mean one thing, that the boy is an airbender. And that means that despite the legends and stories, there is still one airbender left. And it pleases me to know that that bastard Sozin didn't manage to completely annihilate the airbenders. And I have the sneaking suspicion that the boy is more than he appears to be.

Katara comes in with blankets as I watch the boy. "Thanks for watching him, Ciara. He and his bison brought us here after our canoe was wrecked. He's the reason that we didn't freeze to death out there."

"What's his name?" My curiosity is starting to get the better of me, despite my ingrained sense of caution.

Katara looks at him fondly. "Aang. He's an airbender."

I nod. "I figured that he was, judging by his tattoos. They're like nothing I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot during my travels."

Katara steps out for a minute to talk to her grandmother. But when Aang starts to have a nightmare, I call Katara back in and she shakes him awake. "Aang…Aang! Wake up!" He jolts awake and sits up. So Katara tries to keep him calm. "It's okay, we're in the village now. Come on, get ready, everyone's waiting to meet you."

Katara gets up and leaves the tent as Aang gets out of bed and starts pulling his clothes back on. He looks at me curiously. "Hi there. Are you friends with Katara?"

I shrug. "Sort of. She and her brother found me floating on a piece of ice, almost dead. Sounds like we both has some issues with ice recently. They brought me back here and nursed me back to health. I've been here for a couple of weeks."

His eyes glitter at me, and he looks so cute and innocent that I wonder how much he knows about what happened to his people. "So what's your name?"

I smile gently. "My name is Ciara. And it's good to meet you Aang."

Once he's done getting dressed, Katara drags him off to meet the village, and I go out to sit on the ice wall around the village and look out at the ocean and the rising sun. I've always like watching the sun rise, as though the world is becoming pure and new as the new day begins. Though I do make sure to duck when Aang comes swooping over my head with his weird glider.

* * *

Over the next few days, Aang drags Katara out on a bunch of little adventures, including penguin sledding. I don't really understand the appeal, but I don't say anything about it, and I turn him down when he invites me along as well.

But one of their adventures goes badly wrong when a Fire Nation flare shoots into the sky. It's probably visible for at least fifty miles around. That could be very dangerous, especially seeing as I'm a rogue firebender, and I'm trying to hide it. If any Fire Nation ships saw that flare, then I need to leave, and soon.

Aang and Katara make their way back a while later, and the whole village is agitated. The kids are happy to see them, but Sokka isn't. He points accusingly at Aang. "I knew it! You signaled the Fire Navy with that flare! You're leading them straight to us, aren't you?"

"Aang didn't do anything. It was an accident!" Katara steps up to defend him from her older brother, looking fairly unhappy with the accusation against her new friend.

"Yeah. We were on the ship, and there was this booby trap, and we…boobied right into it." Such a master of eloquence…

Katara's grandmother chastises her. "Katara, you shouldn't have gone on that ship. Now, we could all be in danger."

"Don't blame Katara, I brought her there." Aang takes the blame, and looks a little ashamed of himself. "It's my fault."

Sokka jumps right onto that confession. "Aha! The traitor confesses! Warriors, away from the enemy. The foreigner is banished from our village."

Katara's temper flares. "Sokka, you're making a mistake."

"No, I'm keeping my promise to Dad, I'm protecting you from threats like him!"

"Aang is not our enemy!" Katara starts to calm down a little. "Don't you see? Aang's brought us something we haven't had in a long time. Fun!"

"Fun? We can't fight firebenders with fun!"

"You should try it sometime." Aang's argument is pointless, and it sounds even less convincing with a smile on his face.

Sokka isn't buying it. "Get out of our village. Now."

Katara appeals to her grandmother. "Grandmother please, don't let Sokka do this."

"Katara, you knew going on that ship was forbidden. Sokka is right. I think it best if the airbender leaves." She says it in a tone that leaves no room for dissent.

But that only enrages Katara. "Fine! Then I'm banished too!" She grabs Aang and drags him towards Appa. "Come on Aang, let's go."

"Where do you think you're going?" Sokka is astonished and outraged with his sister's actions.

"To find a waterbender. Aang is taking me to the North Pole." Well, on the bright side, at least Katara has a plan, and priorities.

"Katara! Would you really choose him over your own tribe? Your own family?"

Katara stops in her tracks, and Aang says something quietly to her. She answers him, and he looks happy, then he looks a little weird, like he remembered something that he forgot to do, and he's not looking forward to it much. Then he hops up onto Appa's head and waves. "It was nice meeting everyone." It looks like everyone is fine with staying here while Aang goes off on his own.

But the same won't be said of me. "Hey Aang, wait up a sec." I jump off the wall and land perfectly in the snow. I take off the coat that Katara gave me and throw it onto Sokka's head. "I'm going to go with you. If there's even the slightest chance that Fire Nation soldiers are going to show up here, I can't stay. And besides, it's probably going to be harder for them to find me if I'm traveling with a guy with a flying bison."

He smiles at me. "Okay then, do you want to see the air temple?"

I grin excitedly. "You know it. I've never seen any of the air temples, so it should be a good adventure. And as you can see, I'm the type who really likes adventure."

"Then hop on!" He swirls into the air and lands on the bison, Appa's, head. So I run around to the back and climb up Appa's tail as Aang has his big friend turn around, and a few little goodbyes are said. But despite Appa being a flying bison, he walks off instead of flying.

I lie down in the large saddle, which is big enough to fit at least half a dozen people, and I watch the sky. Appa carries the two of us around for a while, and I can tell that Aang is feeling sad, so I don't press any conversation on him. I just make myself content with watching the changing and shifting colors of the sky.

But once we get a good distance away, Aang spots a Fire Navy ship headed towards the village. He glances at me briefly. "You stay here with Appa." And he takes off without explaining. But he doesn't need to explain, I know what he's planning to do.

* * *

I stay with Appa, but when Aang doesn't come back, I know what's happened. So I climb onto Appa's head and take the reins. "Alright boy, you and I have to go find your friend. And we have a couple of people to pick up on the way. Can you go back to the village?" He brays in response and starts moving back towards the village.

Appa and I come up on Katara and Sokka talking with their grandmother. I whistle lightly at them. "Hey, you two! I don't think you're going to get very far in that canoe!"

Katara spins around and looks at me, stunned. "Ciara! And Appa!"

I grin at them. "Come on, let's go." I watch carefully as the two of them climb up Appa's tail with their supplies. Then I smile and turn back to the direction Appa is pointed in. "Now, I think that Aang said something to get you to move. Um…" Then it clicks in my head. "Right! Yip yip!"

That sure gets him up, and he readily takes to the sky, slapping his tail on the water and soaring into the sky. We fly through the air, Sokka and Katara freaking out about Appa flying, and heading straight for the ship that took Aang, because somehow, Appa seems to know exactly where to go to find his missing friend. Must be some kind of airbender and pet bison bond.

I spot him on the deck of the ship and Appa steers us right towards the ship. But before we can get to him, Aang falls off the ship and into the water. Katara, of course, freaks out. But her panic is unneeded, as Aang rises out of the water, his eyes and tattoos glowing, and his body is supported by a huge column of water.

He crashes onto the deck of the ship and sends all of the crew flying over the sides and into the ocean. So with the danger having passed, I take Appa down to the deck and watch as Katara and Sokka go down to retrieve Aang.

Aang's staff is lying on the deck, so I jump off Appa and run over for it. But when I pick it up, I find that stubborn prince hanging onto the end of it. His eyes widen as he lays eyes on me. "It can't be, you died!"

I smirk at him. "Obviously not. I'm a lot tougher than you seem to think." Then my gaze hardens. "You don't want to get anywhere near me again, I promise you. It won't be pretty if you do." Then I smack his head with the staff and send him falling down towards the water, and I watch him grab onto the chain of the boat. "Pray that we don't see each other again, Prince Zuko."

I turn around and see that Sokka and Katara are finished with the guards, so I jump onto Appa's back, throw Aang his staff, and brace myself as he deflects a fireball that Zuko manages to get aimed at us. I turn back to the ship and glare down at them. Then I slink down into the saddle and curl up to go to sleep while Aang does all of his trip planning.


	4. The Southern Air Temple

Our escapades take us all over the place as Aang essentially makes a list of things that he wants to do, and we fly around the southern hemisphere doing them. Whether it be riding hog-monkeys or wrestling with badger-moles, we go all over to satisfy Aang's obvious thirst for excitement and adventure. When it comes to entertainment, he really is just a hyperactive kid.

Finally, Aang sets a course for the southern air temple. And like usual, I sleep the trip away, huddled up in the saddle. I never sleep in the sleeping bags, or near the fire when we set up camp, I don't need to. My inner fire keeps me warm. And since I'm usually up most of the night keeping watch. They never asked me to do it, but I figure that someone should.

* * *

What wakes me up is when Sokka shakes me and holds me down against the saddle as Appa takes a steep approach up a mountain. Sokka's voice is barely audible through all of the wind. "Ciara! Stay down! Otherwise you might fall off!"

I nod and hold on tight as we climb higher and higher, and I watch with amazement as the southern air temple comes into sight. It's magnificent, built up and around a mountain, twisting and curving with a natural beauty that I've never seen before.

Katara and Sokka busy themselves with looking around once we land, though Sokka is ruled by his stomach, and Aang talks about the place like a tour guide. Though his enthusiasm is tempered when he sees how lonely and abandoned the place is. Sokka makes a smooth move by getting Aang to teach him how to play Airball. Though I sit out on one of the nearby cliffs, and watch in amusement as Sokka loses seven times in a row.

After the seventh match, Sokka takes a dive. "Making him feel better is putting me in a world of hurt." But after getting up from his crash, he notices an old Fire Nation helmet in the snow. "Katara, check this out."

"Fire Nation…" So, in order to tell Aang about it, Katara calls him over. "Aang, there's something you need to see." But she changes her mind midway, not wanting to hurt Aang's delicate feelings. She uses her waterbending to make a pile of snow fall on top of it and Sokka. "Uh, just a new waterbending move I learned."

Aang buys into it completely. "Nice one, but enough practicing. We have a whole temple to see!"

With Aang getting so into touring around his old home, I smile at him and decide to finally say something. "Hey Aang, I was wondering…Could I skip out on the guided tour and just run around this place and look at stuff? You're a great tour guide and all, but I really like just wandering around and finding things out myself. It makes everything a surprise!"

He blinks, and then grins. "Alright. Just be careful not to fall off the mountain."

"Sure. I'll keep that in mind. Anyway, there's a lot of temple, and not nearly enough time to explore it thoroughly. So I'm going to go and run around a bit." I wave to the three of them and run off to take a look around on my own.

I start with climbing up to each of the terraces. But what I find is not nearly as pleasant as what I would have found if I were here a hundred years ago. I see ruined walls and piles of skeletons, both monks and Fire Nation soldiers. Obviously, they managed to invade this temple, and probably the others as well. It doesn't sit well with me, knowing that this is what the current dynasty of leaders has done to the world. _If my father were still alive…_ But I expel the thought from my mind. I can't afford to dwell on things that I can't change.

Suddenly, the temple starts shaking, and I know instinctively that the one causing the surges in power is Aang. He must have discovered the same thing that I did, that his people were massacred, which means that this power is a product of his anger and sorrow. So I run, I run as fast as my legs can carry me. And I see Aang with his glowing tattoos, and a sphere of air spinning violently around him. Katara is approaching him, obviously intending to calm him down. But I don't know if she can manage that, with him in such a distraught and angry state. In fact, I don't know if he'll even be able to hear her while he's like this.

"Aang, I know you're upset. And I know how hard it is to lose the people you love. I went through the same thing when I lost my mom. Monk Gyatso and the other airbenders may be gone, but you still have a family." Katara pleads with Aang, trying to appeal to his feelings. "Sokka and I, and Ciara too, we're your family now."

I run around and get in front of Aang. "Come on shorty, it's about time for us to get back to that travel plan that you cooked up for us. So why don't you come down here and plan a few more fun things for us? There's a lot of world left to see…"

Katara looks scared and worried. "Please, Aang!"

Finally, it seems like he can hear us. The winds start to calm, and he floats down to the ground, gently. His tattoos stop glowing and he falls into Katara's arms. "Katara, I'm sorry."

She holds him gently in her arms. "It's okay. It wasn't your fault."

"But you were right. And if the firebenders found this temple, that means they found the other ones too." He closes his eyes, but looks like he's about to cry. "I really am the last airbender." It hurts my heart to see him come to such an unpleasant realization.

So after a short visit to the sanctuary to look at the avatar statues, we pick up Aang's new friend, Momo the lemur and we head back to Appa. We pack up and head off, with Sokka doing the navigating this time, while I snuggle up with Aang. It's nice to have traveling companions, since I've been on my own for a bit too long. I'm sure that my father would approve of the company I keep, and my mother would tell me to go out into the world and chase my dreams. And for now, my dreams involve traveling with Aang, Katara and Sokka.


	5. Kiyoshi Island

We continue on with Aang's crazy list of things that he wants to do, and end up making a detour to a small island. And I ignore Katara and Sokka's arguments about the mending of Sokka's pants the whole way there. I also ignore Sokka's complaints about how many detours and stops we're making on our way to the North Pole.

After convincing Appa to take a nap, Aang sprints to the beach and starts undressing. His intention is to ride the elephant koi. So he swims out to the deeper water and grabs hold of the spine of a koi. He rides it through the water like a madman, and how it doesn't manage to throw him of is a mystery. There is no way that I would be able to hold on the way he does.

But since I stay sitting in Appa's saddle, I get taken along for the ride when Appa runs off, after hearing a strange noise. I jump onto his head and pat him gently. "Hey Appa, what's wrong?"

He brays, but I don't see anything, so it must be just something that he hears or smells. I keep my eyes peeled, but all I see are birds and small animals. So I decide to just let Appa do whatever he wants, since if we were in any danger, he would probably be on the attack already.

After a while, he stops getting interested in whatever he was chasing, and we head back to the shore. Unfortunately, Aang and the others aren't there when we get back. _Damn it…_ So I tap Appa's head. "Alright boy, go find Aang."

Appa takes to the air and starts flying further into the island. And a few minutes later, I catch sight of a village. _I see. Either they decided to go on to the village without us, or the locals must have found them on the beach and captured them. I was with Appa the whole time, so I was safe._

We land in the village and I get ready to attack, just in case they turn out to be hostile. But far from being hostile, an old man, along with Aang and Katara, approach me on Appa. Aang waves to me, so I jump off the bison and land lightly in the snow.

The old man bows to me. "Hello, friend of the Avatar. Welcome to Kiyoshi Island. Your friends have been worried about you and the bison."

I blink, a little confused, but since he's being courteous to me, I return the favor. "Thank you. It is good to see that my friends are unharmed. If it had turned out that they had been taken prisoner and hurt badly, then I'm sure that Appa would have flattened most of the buildings, with some help from me, of course." I smile at the silly thought. "But since it seems that you are friend, not foe, thank you for the warm welcome, despite the cold weather."

The old man nods and leads me inside where Sokka is sulking and Momo is stuffing his face with food. He also invites us to stay on the island as long as we like. Aang, of course, accepts the offer happily, and we get the royal treatment.

* * *

After getting a good night's sleep, I find a nice, secluded place to get some training in. Of course, I train alone, as I always have, since it would be bad if anyone found out that I'm a firebender. It's not like I can't defend myself, but it would get very complicated, since fleeing from an island is not nearly as easy as fleeing over a continent. And in any case, I have no one to spar with, since my abilities far outstrip anyone I've ever met.

Sokka, on the other hand, somehow manages to get himself beaten up by the female warriors on the island. His sexist ways are going to end up getting him into some serious trouble one of these days. Especially if he ever gets a glimpse of my skills. But I hope that the day he does never comes, because my friends may quickly turn into my enemies if my power is revealed the wrong way.

Aang gets a lot of attention from the girls in the village and it kind of goes to his head. He totally forgets that the point of our trip is to get him and Katara to the North Pole to find a waterbending master. And he's focused on his silly fan club. I make sure to avoid them as much as possible. The last thing I need is to be getting caught up in their silly questions about Aang.

* * *

After a few days, Sokka finally sucks up his pride and goes to the girls to ask them to teach him their fighting techniques. And I get a glimpse of him dressed up in their uniform, I take a moment just to snicker silently at him. It's funny, and convenient, because with Aang and Katara fighting, and Sokka busy, none of them have been paying attention to me sneaking off to train on my own.

However, my training session is cut short when I catch sight of Fire Nation troops landing on the shore. And worst of all, it's that prince again. He must be here looking for Aang, or maybe me, or maybe both of us.

So I run back into the town, ready to fight. But what I find is that the Kiyoshi Warriors, as they call themselves, are already in battle. But they've seriously underestimated their opponent, and obviously, none of them are benders, because the prince makes short work of them, as well as Sokka.

"Nice try Avatar! But these little girls can't save you."

And as though the prince expects Aang to appear, I decide to give him a little surprise instead. I walk out from behind a building and into the road behind him. I look at him with contempt as he spins around, sensing my presence. "Hello again. It seems that no matter where I go, our paths are determined to cross. Is that because you're after Aang? Or perhaps you want me instead? Either way, I can't say that I'm pleased to see you."

His eyes flick over me as I lower my hood, then he glares a bit. "You. Who are you? A criminal? A runaway? A spy? Or just a friend of the Avatar?"

I smirk. "Just the last one. Though I'm sure that your father would call me a criminal, even though I've done nothing wrong, ever. Not that it matters, since even if you knew my name, you wouldn't know who I am." I shake my head irritably. "Now enough with your questions. Either leave, or prepare to fight."

He chooses the latter, by shooting a blast of fire at me. I hear Sokka yell something at me, probably in concern, but it's unneeded, as I slice the fireball in two with my bare hands as soon as it gets within arm's length.

His eyes widen. "You're strong. Why didn't you fight back when I captured you?"

"I'm not a big fan of hurting people if I don't have to. And obviously, you're an idiot, because only an idiot would kidnap a girl just for protecting herself from soldiers who get a little too touchy-feely." I spit the words at him like poison, which is no less than he deserves.

Then, it's my turn, and I leap at him, directing my first blow to his shoulder, but as he moves to block me, I make it a bluff and aim my second strike at the bottom of his ribcage, seriously winding him. He stumbles back and I take the chance to land a second strike on his right shoulder, since I've determined that he's right-handed, as opposed to my left hand being my dominant hand.

He's obviously figured out that fighting me with fire is not going to work, so he continues with our little hand to hand duel, quickly discovering that I'm very well-learned in martial arts, and not nearly as weak as my small build would suggest. Then again, I'm wearing boys' clothes, which obscures not only my figure, but also the surprising amount of muscle that I have. That's why I never let anyone see me undressed. I may have curves in all the right places, but I've also got a few extra that aren't very feminine. So I understate my feminine ones with bindings, and hide the rest with boys' clothes.

But just as I'm about to knock this prince through a loop, he gets distracted by someone behind me. "Hey! Over here!"

I turn around and see Aang standing there. "Finally." And the stupid prince forgets all about me and runs off to fight with Aang instead. He sure has his priorities straight. He wants to know who the hell I am, but he want to capture Aang more than he wants to sate his curiosity about me.

Aang gets into a duel with Zuko, quickly putting him down with a couple of fans that he picked up from one of the fallen warriors. And with a lot of the houses on fire, as well as the statue of Avatar Kiyoshi, Aang decides to call a retreat. He calls Appa and gets both him and Katara on it. Then Appa starts flying towards me, and I run up to a ruined house, climb to the roof, and jump off, landing deftly in Appa's saddle. We head off for Sokka next, and I hold my hand out to him, letting him grab on as I pull him up into the saddle as well.

Sokka stares at me, obviously confused. "Your skills, you can fight? How did we not know that you can fight? And why did you seem to know that guy?"

I roll my eyes. "Long story. But to make it short, he's the one who captured me in the Earth Kingdom, I escaped, ended up taking a dive into the ocean, and then, you and Katara found me, half-dead, floating on a piece of ice. As for my fighting skills, I never said anything about not being able to fight. I may not be able to bend water like Katara, or air like Aang, but that doesn't mean that I can't fight. Don't underestimate me."

Aang looks guilty, so Katara tries to reassure him. "I know it's hard, but you did the right thing. Zuko would have destroyed the whole place if we had stayed. They're going to be okay."

As we fly off away from the island, Aang looks back at the flaming mess and seems to make a decision. He jumps off of Appa and into the water. And Katara looks over the side in alarm. "What are you doing?"

But for a moment, nothing happens. Until Aang appears out of the water, riding the giant sea monster known as the Unagi. He forces it to spray water all over the town, putting out all of the fires and saving the town from further destruction. And despite how stupid and dangerous it was, Katara is just happy when Aang flies back through the air and lands back on Appa with the rest of us.


	6. Omashu

We continue on over the Earth Kingdom, finally stopping just outside of the city of Omashu. And Aang wants to pay it a visit, much to my utter dismay. I've been to Omashu before, and it never made any sense to me.

Aang spreads his arms wide. "The Earth Kingdom city of Omashu! I used to always come here to visit my friend Bumi."

"Wow, we don't have cities like this in the South pole." Katara is completely star-struck.

Sokka is just as stunned. "They have buildings here that don't melt."

"Well, let's go slowpokes." Aang obviously just wants to get into the city as quickly as possible. "The real fun is inside the city."

I groan as we follow Aang off towards the city gates, after thoroughly disguising Aang with a bunch of Appa's fur to act as a wig. Katara and Sokka were the ones who insisted on it, since I would never force someone to wear anything so smelly or itchy. And Aang even takes on the demeanor of an old man, since he is technically a hundred and twelve years old.

As we approach the gates, Aang smiles at us through his new mustache. "You're going to love Omashu, they have the friendliest people in the world."

"Rotten cabbages! What kind of slum do you think this is?" One of the guards' voices carries over to us as he sends a cart of cabbages over the edge.

As we approach the gates, one of the earthbenders makes a boulder break out of the ground and hover over Aang. "State your business." I roll my eyes. _Right…because this is what qualifies as friendly…_

In an instant, Aang is in front of the guard, and he pokes him in the chest. "My business is my business, young man, and none of yours! I've got half a mind to bend you over my knee and paddle your backside!" I hold in my laughs, but barely.

"Settle down old-timer. Just tell me who you are."

And here, Aang's imagination goes into overdrive. "Name's Banzu Pippenpaddleopsicopolis the Third. And these are my grandkids."

Katara walks up to the guard, all sweet and charming. "Hi, June Pippenpaddleopsicopolis. Nice to meet you."

The guard points to her. "You seem like a responsible young lady. See that your grandfather stays out of trouble." Then he points the way inside the city. "Enjoy Omashu." But before we get too far, he stops us. "Wait a minute." He grabs Sokka's shoulder. "You're a strong young boy. Show some respect for the elderly and carry your grandfather's bag."

"Good idea." Aang plays along and happily tosses his bag into Sokka hands. Then we wait as the earthbenders open the way into the city and we walk in as they close it behind us.

Aang looks out on the city and smiles. "This is the Omashu delivery system, miles and miles of tubes and chutes." He points to all of the mail slides that go up and down the city. "Earthbending brings the packages up, and gravity brings them down."

"Great, so they get their mail on time." Sokka is obviously unimpressed with the genius engineering.

"They do get their mail on time!" Aang seems thrilled, and I'm a little afraid to find out why. "But my friend Bumi found a better use for these chutes."

And just like that, I somehow find myself squished between Katara and Aang in one of the mail carts. And all the while, I'm ignoring what Aang is saying, because my brain is screaming at me that this is all a very bad idea. And the sheer height isn't what bothers me, or the speed of the cart, it's Aang's wild driving that takes us out of the chutes and across the city on a completely unpredictable ride that gets even worse with his airbending. _I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to freaking die._

We nearly get smushed when we all fall out, and only Aang's airbending saves us from a hundred foot fall. We bounce through pottery and pet shops and across roofs and right into a cabbage cart. And that's what finally gets us arrested.

* * *

We get dragged in front of the king and I just stand there, stubbornly silent and staring at the wall. "Your Majesty, these juveniles were arrested for vandalism, traveling under false pretenses, and malicious destruction of cabbages."

The cabbage seller isn't pleased at all. "Off with their heads, one for each head of cabbage!"

"Silence! Only the king can pass down judgement." The head guard turns to the king. "What is your judgement, Sire?"

The king looks at us and considers us. "Throw them…" He points at us and grins. "A feast!" And that just confuses the heck out of all of us.

But we do all end up having a meal with the king. And despite the weirdness of it all, I just tune out everything and start eating. That is, until the king addresses Aang. "So, tell me young bald one, where are you from?"

Clearly, Aang was not expecting this kind of interrogation. "I'm from…Kangaroo Island." I want to face-palm at his answer, until I hear the king's answer.

The king, with a totally straight face looks at Aang. "Kangaroo Island, eh? I hear that place is really hopping."

One of the guards coughs just as I slam my face into my palm. That joke was so bad, and then, Sokka has to go and laugh at it. "Well, all these good jokes are making me tired, guess it's time to hit the hay." The king moves as though to get out of his chair, and then he throws a couple of drumsticks, one at Aang, and one at me.

Aang catches the drumstick thrown at him with air, and I catch the one aimed at me less than an inch from my face, and with only two fingers. Of course, seeing Aang's airbending is what startles the guards. "Well, one of you is certainly well trained. And even more interesting, there's an airbender in our presence, and not just any airbender…" The king gets to his feet. "The Avatar!" The he sits back down. "Now, what do you have to say for yourself? Mr. Pippenpaddleopsicopolis?"

"Okay, you caught me; I'm the Avatar, doing my Avatar thing, keeping the world safe." He looks under the table comically. "Everything checks out, no firebenders here. So, good work everybody. Love each other, respect all life, and don't run with your spears. We'll see you next time." And just as Aang tries to drag all of us out of the room, the guards make it clear that we're to stay.

Katara is sure miffed. "You can't keep us here, let us leave."

"Lettuce leaf?" the king holds up a green leaf, and then starts chewing on it, and I know that this guy is brilliant, but very insane. Very eccentric.

The king informs us that tomorrow; Aang will have to face three deadly challenges. Then he has a slight argument with his guards over which chamber to have us escorted to. Finally, he decides on which one, and he gives his orders. "Take them to the newly refurbished chamber, which was once bad." Then he turns to me. "However, the girl with the golden eyes stays here."

Without being given a choice I the matter, the other three are escorted out, and I'm left alone with the king. I turn to look at him, and I narrow my eyes suspiciously. "Alright, now what is it that you want with me? Why is it that of the four of us, a waterbender, a strategist, the Avatar, and me, I'm the one you wanted to stay here?"

His expression suddenly grows serious. "The last time that I saw eyes like yours, was the last time that I saw a man named Raikon. I don't suppose that you ever met this man?"

My eyes narrow even further. "And what would you know of him? He died nine years ago."

The king's expression softens. "I see, so you were there. You must be Ciara. Am I right? Are you Raikon's daughter?"

My eye twitches and I glare at this king. "So you know who I am. Have you known this whole time? Or is it already common knowledge that I'm not actually dead?"

"No, I suspected it ever since you walked in with the Avatar. You have your father's gaze and bearing. I knew your father well, and your grandfather. It's a shame that they are no longer with us; they played some mean pai sho." He actually does look unhappy for their absence, and that softens my demeanor, though only a little.

I fold my arms across my chest and stare at him suspiciously. "So, what are you going to do, now that you've found a firebender in your city? Are you planning to let me go? Or are you going to try and lock me up? People have tried, and none of them have managed to keep me prisoner. So, what will you do?"

"Nothing." He blinks at me. "You mean no harm to anyone, so I won't do anything. Like I said, I knew your father and grandfather, so I know what kind of a daughter that Raikon would have raised. You will be safe here."

His words surprise me, but out of respect for an acquaintance of Father's, I give him a short bow. "Thank you for your generosity. I will behave myself as much as possible while within your city. Though I should mention that riding down the mail chutes was not my idea. I was dragged into it. And I nearly died of a heart attack on the way down."

The old king chuckles. "Yes, it is not an adventure for the faint of heart. Now if you don't mind, I would like you to watch these tests discreetly when they start tomorrow. I'm sure that you'll find them both interesting and entertaining."

I nod and he calls for a couple of guards to escort me to another room. It's spacious and well-decorated, and has a single bed right in the middle, with curtains hanging around it. But I'm tired from traveling, so I just curl up in the blankets and go right to sleep.

* * *

In the morning, a guard comes to escort me to the site of the first test. I go along with him willingly, and I watch from a distance as Aang tries to retrieve a key from inside a waterfall. His first attempt involves trying to climb the ladder inside the waterfall, which doesn't work because of the monumental amount of water that falls on top of him. And when he slips down, he nearly gets his special parts taken off by a spike coming up from the floor. A few more inches down, and he'd never get himself a girlfriend.

The second attempt is a bit better, he leaps from stalagmite to stalagmite, until he gets up to the stalactites hanging from the ceiling, from which he makes an attempt at jumping into the waterfall. That also fails miserably.

Finally, he breaks off the tip of one of the stone spikes and throws it through the air, speeding it up with a blast of air, and he pins the chain with the key on it to the wall, letting it dangle right above the king's head.

The next test involves a rabbit, and a huge monstrous rabbit. And Aang has to bring the king his pet. But instead of the small rabbit being the pet, it turns out that the huge rabbit with the horns, hooves and monstrous forearms is actually the pet. And seeing the king scratch his pet's belly is just plain weird.

Sokka and Katara, on the other hand, aren't doing so well. They're being held hostage by some creeping crystal, and it's nearly covering their entire bodies by this point. So Aang gets on with the next challenge, and we all go to an underground arena, where he has to pick and choose who he fights. The king brings in two options for him, but Aang chooses to fight the king instead.

It turns out that the king is a powerful earthbender, and somehow, that doesn't surprise me. Father had some very interesting friends, it seems. And when he and Aang get into their duel, it's mostly just the king tossing rocks at Aang, while he tries to avoid the heavy projectiles by dancing around like a true little airbender. Aang even ends up caught in quicksand, and nearly squashed with a couple of boulders as he frees himself and really starts to attack back. But his attacks are half-hearted at best, until he makes a tornado to catch the huge chunk of arena that the king picks up and throw it right back at him.

Finally, they end up in a draw, as Aang gains the upper hand and moves into a final strike position, and the king hefts a huge boulder overhead. But that seems to satisfy the king, and he tosses the boulder aside and congratulates Aang.

The king falls through the ground and pops back up next to Sokka and Katara. "Answer this one question, and I will set your friends free. What…is my name?" It's a strange question, but it must have some purpose. "From the looks of your friends, I'd say you only have a few minutes." Obviously, there is a trick to it, something that Aang would know better than us. And soon enough, he seems to figure it out.

* * *

Once we're all in the throne room, Aang faces the king. "I solved the question the same way I solved the challenges. As you said a long time ago, I had to open my mind to the possibilities." The king laughs at the little joke. "Bumi, you're a mad genius." So it turns out that the king is his friend from a hundred years ago, and they hug it all out.

And since Aang's won the challenge, Bumi releases Sokka and Katara, revealing that the creeping crystal is actually made of rock candy. The king snorts with laughter. "First of all, it's pretty fun messing with people." Then he speaks carefully to Aang. "But I do have a reason. Aang, you have a difficult task ahead. The world has changed in the hundred years you've been gone. It's the duty of the Avatar to restore balance to the world by defeating Fire Lord Ozai. You have much to learn. You must master the four elements and confront the Fire Lord. And when you do, I hope you will think like a mad genius. And it looks like you're in good hands. You'll need your friends to help defeat the Fire Nation." Then Momo catches the king's eyes as he climbs up Aang's shoulder. "And you'll need Momo too." Bumi looks at me, and he smiles. "And you might find power in the most unlikely of places."

Aang grins at his friend, and I have a bad feeling about this. "Thank you for your wisdom, but before we leave, I have a challenge for you." And true to my instincts, it's pretty bad. Aang drags Bumi off to take a ride down the mail chutes with him. I swear, that boy just looks for trouble in every corner.

After sending us off with some supplies and a plethora of warm goodbyes, we sail out of King Bumi's sight and off across the Earth Kingdom. But since all of their survival skills are seriously lacking, I end up doing some hunting periodically, and I pick up whatever food I can find on my way back to wherever we set up camp each night.


	7. Imprisoned

One afternoon, since I'm too tired to go out and gather food myself, Sokka goes out for food, and comes back with just a bag full of random nuts, I draw the line. I'm fine with nuts, but his gathering skills are so bad that he didn't even pick ripe ones. But food is going to have to wait, because tremors shake the ground.

"What was that?" And of course, Sokka is the first to freak out. Another tremor, and Aang runs off, much to Sokka's dismay. "Shouldn't we run away from huge booms? Not towards them?"

But since it's something interesting, I go along as well, and what we see is something quite interesting. A boy, about my age, is practicing his earthbending. And even though it's fine to want to meet him, Katara goes and does something rather stupid.

"Hello there, I'm Katara!" She just walks right over and calls it out to him. "What's your name?"

Of course, that startles the boy, and he drops his rock and quickly flees, bringing down a landslide behind him to mask his escape. Obviously, there's more going on here than meets the eye. Either he thought that we were going to hurt him, or we were going to tell someone, and they would hurt him.

Of course, Aang finally uses his brain. "Hey, that guy has got to be running somewhere. Maybe we're near a village. And I bet that village has a market!"

"Which means no nuts for dinner!" And Katara runs right off with Aang, while Sokka takes offense to their obvious disdain for his gathering skills.

So we head off to the village, and we walk through the market, until Katara runs into a shop after the boy we saw earlier. Unlike Aang and Sokka, I don't follow her inside. I have no desire to make that boy's life any harder by confronting him about something that he's obviously trying to hide.

What startles me is when the door and window shutters close. There must be something wrong. And what doesn't help is when a patrol of soldiers goes to the shop, and their leader starts banging on the door. After a minute, the shopkeeper lets them in. But I stay on guard, ready to intervene if it looks like the soldiers are going to try and hurt my friends.

The soldiers leave without much of an incident, so I let it go. But it still makes my stomach writhe in displeasure to see them being such bullies. So I walk right past them, ignoring them, and I walk into the shop. I glance at Aang. "Good to see that nothing has been burnt in here." I close the door firmly behind me. "I was getting a little worried out there."

Sokka looks a bit pissed off about this whole thing. "Nice guy." Then he turns to the shopkeeper. "How long has the Fire Nation been here?"

"Five years. Fire Lord Ozai uses our town's coal mines to fuel his ships." The shopkeeper's voice is bitter and worn, and I can't blame her for that.

Her son, on the other hand, is a bit more to my taste. "They're thugs. They steal from us, and everyone here is too much of a coward to do anything about it."

"Quiet, Haru. Don't talk like that."

Katara seems confused. "But Haru's an earthbender, he can help."

The shopkeeper shakes her head. "Earthbending is forbidden. It's caused nothing but misery for this village. He must never use his abilities."

"How can you say that?" Katara approaches the shopkeeper and her son. "Haru has a gift. Asking him not to earthbend is like asking me not to waterbend. It's a part of who we are."

"You don't understand." The shopkeeper shakes her head again.

But Katara won't give up. "I understand that Haru can help you fight back. What can the Fire Nation do to you that they haven't done already?"

"They could take Haru away. Like they took his father." And now the truth comes out. Now it all makes sense.

Haru and his mother let us sleep in their barn for the night, and I start mulling over what happened. They're using this town for coal, and they're taking away all of the earthbenders. They're taking unfair taxes from the people, and making it hard for anyone to get by. All in all, it looks just like a lot of other towns that I've passed through. I've never done anything about it because I was always on my own, and if I screwed up, that was it, I would get caught and I would be killed. Maybe now that I have some companions, I might be able to do some real good. And I fall asleep early, thinking about all of the things I could do, now that I have friends to help me.

But early in the morning, after going out to get some water, Katara burst back into the barn while we're packing up. "They took him! They took Haru away!"

Aang is shocked. "What?"

"The old man turned him in to the Fire Nation. It's all my fault! I forced him into earthbending!"

Sokka moves to calm his sister. "Slow down, Katara. When did this happen?"

"Haru's mother said they came for him at midnight."

"Then it's too late to track him, he's long gone."

But Katara is undeterred. "We don't need to track him; the Fire Nation is going to take me right to Haru."

"And, why would they do that?" Aang is confused, but I can already see where this is going.

Katara's plan becomes obvious. "Because they're going to arrest me for earthbending."

I nod. "That's actually a good idea, but how do you plan to convince them that you're an earthbender? Remember, you're a waterbender, so earth isn't exactly your element."

There, I've got her. Then she looks at me. "I don't suppose that you're an earthbender?"

I shake my head. "If I was, I would probably have already suggested this and gotten the both of us arrested. But I'm not." Then I get an idea. "But, I do have an idea as to how we can get this done. The mines have air vents, if we roll a boulder on top of one, and Aang shoots air through another, we can fake a boulder lift. It might not convince a master, but it might fool some stupid soldiers."

Sokka nods. "That's actually a good plan, despite this whole thing being a bad idea."

I shrug. "Best to make the most of a bad situation. That's how I've survived on my own for this long."

So we head off for one of the mines and Sokka helps Katara to move a boulder over one of the air vents. Aang and I hang out near another vent, and wait for Aang's cue as Sokka and Katara start fighting once a patrol of soldiers gets close enough. And frankly, their insults are just plain childish, and their acting is so bad that I'm surprised that it fools anyone.

Aang misses his cue the first time, but he manages to recover from his state of distraction and pumps enough air through the vents to lift the boulder several feet off the ground. Though the soldiers are dumber than I thought, and think that Momo is the one earthbending, until Sokka points the finger at Katara, and they finally take her away. She has twelve hours before we go to rescue her, so she had better make her time count.

While the soldiers take Katara away, we follow along after her, and make sure to remember her course as they take her to a boat in the middle of the bay. We fly after the ship and make sure to stay out of sight as it approaches the large structure out in the water.

Once her time is up, Aang sneaks onto the rig and gets Katara. But she refuses to come along until she's freed the earthbenders. So that puts a hitch in the plan, and Aang is all for freeing them. Sokka wants to leave, but since his sister is being stubborn, he gives in, and we all hide on board.

Aang wants to make a hurricane so that we can steal the warden's keys, but that won't work. And a simple mutiny won't cut it either. We need to help them help themselves. But for that, we need to get them some rock or earth so that they can bend.

Then it hits me. "Wait a minute, isn't this rig a shipyard?"

Sokka looks at me curiously. "Yeah, why? Do you have an idea?"

"Well. The town's coal mines have been providing the fuel for the ships right?" I smirk with pleasure. "So where do you think all of the coal gets transported to before getting distributed to the fleet?"

I let that sink in, and Aang gets to it first. "Here. The coal is here."

I grin. "Exactly. If I had to bet, I'd say that it's right under our feet. We have more than enough rock here to supply the earthbenders, and an infinite amount of water for Katara, not to mention the whole sky above us for Aang. We're not short on bending materials, so all we have to do is get the coal onto the main deck, and we're home free. And If I had to guess I'd say that a lot of the coal is going to the furnaces, so that means, more air vents." I look at Aang. "Which means, you should be able to get in, close them, and then blow all of the coal out and onto the deck. But you'll have to be careful, it's hot."

So we split up and we get to the main air shaft that we're going to use to pull this off. Aang goes to close off all the vents and shoot the coal up onto the deck, so all we have to do is sit and wait. But not everything goes according to plan, because we get ourselves caught.

"There are the intruders!" The guards start mobilising as soon as we're spotted, and we're quickly surrounded.

One of the earthbenders approaches Katara. "Katara, stop! You can't win this fight!"

The warden approaches with a contingent of guards. "Listen to him well, child. You're one mistake away from dying where you stand."

The guards approach us, but Aang sure has the perfect dramatic timing, because the grate starts shaking, and a huge stream of coal erupts onto the deck like a plume of lava. And Aang pops out right after it, coughing from all the smoke and ash.

Katara climbs the pile of coal and faces the earthbenders. "Here's your chance earthbenders! Take it! Your fate is in your own hands."

But the earthbenders don't seem to have the courage to stand up. They've been here too long, and they've lost most of their inner stability. And the warden picks up on that and starts to laugh. "Foolish girl. You thought a few inspirational words and some coal would change these people? Look at these blank, hopeless faces. Their spirits were broken a long time ago." Then he taunts her. "Oh, but you still believe in them, how sweet. They're a waste of your energy little girl. You failed."

But as the warden turns around, I see something quite reassuring. Haru isn't taking any of that shit, and he controls a few pieces of coal, sending one of them flying at the warden, and nailing him in the back of the head. The warden retaliates with a burst of fire, but Haru's father steps in, having found his courage, to defend his son with a shield of coal.

As the guards and warden start shooting fire, the earthbenders finally begin to move, using their power together to move the coal and protect themselves, before finally starting to fight back. And all-out brawl begins on the deck, and even I find myself in the fray, using simple martial arts to put down several guards.

Haru and his father blast a hole in the side of the rig and tell everyone to get to the ship. So the earthbenders start running, and the warden tries to stop them. So Aang uses a little funnel and starts chucking coal chunks at the warden and his guards.

But the stupid fool gets back on his feet and prepares one huge blast of fire, trying to take us all out. I glance at Aang, Katara and Sokka, and then make my decision. "You guys, please don't hate me for what I'm about to do."

Aang looks at me, confused. "What do you mean?"

I shake my head and sprint towards the warden just as he unleashes the huge blast of fire. I concentrate my power and slice right through the huge fireball, dissipating it with tendrils of golden fire. I walk towards the warden, who looks very confused now. "You're a firebender? What do you think you are doing? Siding with the prisoners? This is disloyalty to the Fire Nation."

I glare at him and fire envelops my left fist. "I'm helping the people that I care about in the rescue of people who don't deserve to be imprisoned. I am not disloyal to the Fire Nation; because that implies that I was loyal in the first place. Your Fire Lord made it very clear a long time ago that I'm not welcome among you, and frankly, I've never wanted to be. I've hidden my bending for years, knowing that if I got caught, people would assume that I'm one of you, and that I only want to hurt people. And it's people like you who give us firebenders a bad name."

I lift my hand and prepare to end him, but coal snakes around my feet and forms a platform under him and his guards. The platform rises and goes to hover over the water. And then, he starts panicking. "No, please! I can't swim!"

Haru's father sure knows how to taunt. "Don't worry, I hear cowards float." And he drops the warden and his guards into the ocean.

Now that the warden is taken care of, I move to go further into the rig. I can feel Sokka's eyes on me, full of disgust for what I am. But before I can walk more than fifteen feet, Aang calls out to me. "Ciara! Wait! Where are you going?"

I glance back at Aang, and then back towards my destination. "Someone has to blow this place up. So it might as well be the only firebender here."

"Child, I saw the color of your fire." Haru's father's voice booms towards me with the force of a rockslide. "Do you know a man named Raikon?"

I freeze in my tracks. "How is it that you old people all seem to know my father? First King Bumi, now you. Do you all have some secret society that I don't know about?"

"I see, so you're his daughter." He walks up to me and pats my shoulder. "I met your father while he was passing through my village about twenty years ago. The villagers were hostile, at first, but he was a good man, he helped us to fight off an attack by Fire Nation soldiers. And that's when I saw his golden flames for the first time."

I glance up at him and see a smile on his face. "That sounds like Dad. He never could keep his nose out of a battle if he felt that it was being fought unjustly. Even if that meant exposing himself."

"A trait that you seem to share with him." He nods approvingly. "Your courage is commendable."

"Thank you." My voice is low and soft, because I feel both sad and happy about the compliment. "I just wish that he were still alive to hear you praise him."

Without me saying anything, he seems to understand what words I need to hear. "He would have been proud of the way you fought today."

I glance back at Aang, who looks worried, and Katara, who looks a little nervous, and Sokka, who still looks angry and distrustful. "I'm sorry that you found out this way, but I suppose that I shouldn't have expected a different reaction. Firebenders tend to have a bad reputation, no matter how honorable their own intentions are."

Sokka's reaction is expected. "You're a firebender, as in, one of the bad guys. Why were you traveling with us? Were you waiting for an opportunity to kill Aang? Or are you working with that Prince Zuko?"

I glare at Sokka with hard, gold eyes. "I haven't lied to you. Zuko captured me, and I nearly died, escaping from him. I never meant any harm to any of you. I'm an exile from the Fire Nation, and I have been since the day I was born. Sure, I'm a firebender, what of it? It's not like I was born evil, and I'm not evil now." Then I shake my head. "But this is pointless; I have a rig to blow up."

Now Katara is the one to grab my hand. "Wait. If you blow this place up, you'll die."

"So?" I look at her coldly. "Why should anyone care? I'm a firebender, after all. I'm one of the 'bad guys'."

"No you're not." I glance back at Aang, who interrupted so pointedly. "If you were a bad guy, I would know. You're too nice to be a bad guy." Then he grins. "Besides, this is a good thing, once I'm done learning waterbending and earthbending, you can teach me firebending."

And that's where I draw the line. "Oh no, there is no way that I'm teaching you firebending. I'm not a teacher, and I don't know if I can be considered a firebending master or not. All the firebenders I've fought were average, at best. Plus, my style is not a conventional firebending style; it's my style, so I can't really teach it to you anyway. And frankly, I don't think you're quite ready to learn firebending, it's dangerous, and difficult. Even more than that, you would need the basic skills before I could even consider teaching you what I know. Power comes from many places, and I can't teach anyone if I'm not completely certain that they can handle it."

He looks a little disappointed, and then he perks right back up. "Well, even if you can't teach me, it's good to have someone around who knows how to deflect fireballs."

My eyes twitches, then I realize the meaning of what he said. "Wait, you want me to keep traveling with you?"

"Yeah, you're fun and nice, and not like other firebenders. Plus, it would be sad if you left, you're our friend."

I blink at him, and then my glare softens into a slight smile. "I see. Alright." Then my expression hardens with determination. "But I still have to blow this thing up."

Aang thinks for a minute. "Can you shoot a fireball while we're flying?"

"Yeah…?" Then I realize what he wants to do. "Oh, whoa, wait; you want me to shoot a fireball at the rig while we fly off on Appa?" He nods, so I sigh and roll my eyes. "Fine."

So, despite Sokka's suspicion of me, I get on Appa with Aang and Sokka, while Katara goes to the boats with Haru and his father. And as we fly off with the boats, I prepare one big fireball, and launch it down into the engine chamber, before Aang quickly flies us away and plants us down in the water. And behind us, the rig starts exploding into oblivion.

Once Katara has said her goodbyes to Haru and the other earthbenders, she sheds the ugly brown sack that she was made to wear over her clothes, and she joins us on Appa. And we all wave goodbye as we fly off towards the north, and one more stop on our long journey. But I can tell that this little revelation of mine has shattered any trust that Sokka had for me.


	8. The Winter Solstice

As we continue to travel, I do a lot of sleeping, that is, until Aang goes and wakes me up by trying to find out if jumping into a cloud will feel like cotton, and none too quietly. He finds out that clouds are made of water, not cotton. That's good for him to know once he starts training his waterbending, though I can't see the reason for learning that right now.

But what draws our attention from our travels is the patch of scarred land that stretches across the earth. It's covered in a big black, burned patch of what looks like it was once a forest. We land in the middle of the burned down forest and have a look around. It's terrible, the devastation caused by fire is unmatched by any of the other elements. And to see even more of the proof that firebenders are dangerous just makes me feel worse about being counted among them.

"Fire Nation! Those evil savages make me sick!" And Sokka is going off on a bender. "They have no respect for-"

But Katara shuts him up and points to Aang, who is clearly not taking this sight very well. Aang kneels on the ground and picks up some of the dirt and ash. "Why would anyone do this? How could I let this happen?"

"Aang, you didn't let this happen, it has nothing to do with you." Katara means well, but her words are clearly the wrong ones.

"Yes it does. It's the Avatar's job to protect nature, but I don't know how to do my job."

"That's why we're going to the North Pole, to find you a teacher."

"Yeah, a waterbending teacher. But there's no one who can teach me how to be the Avatar. Monk Gyatso said that Avatar Roku would help me."

"The Avatar before you? He died over a hundred years ago, how are you supposed to talk to him?" Sokka's confusion is understandable, and I'm not quite sure what to do about it either.

Aang lowers his head sadly, "I don't know."

I walk around, looking at the damage. And Sokka still seems to be mad at me, because he walks up to me with a glare. "See, this is what you firebenders do to the world, you burn it until there's nothing left."

"Yes, I know." I sigh and touch a burnt tree, which crumbles to ash under my fingers. "There isn't enough respect for nature. It's not something that they teach. It's all anger and rage and power. They forget all of the important things in their search for power. It's an obsession that started this stupid war in the first place."

"Hmph, are you saying that you respect nature?"

I glare at him. "Well, I haven't burned anything down in a while, what does that tell you?"

"It tells me-" But our conversation is cut short as an old man approaches.

He slowly makes his way towards us, leaning on his cane the whole time. "When I saw the flying bison, I thought it was impossible. But those markings…Are you the Avatar, child?" And with a nod from Aang, he continues. "My village desperately needs your help."

And once again, we've gotten sucked into helping out the common people. Not that I mind it, I'm all for helping people out. It's just that there is some tension in our group right now, and this might not be the best thing to diffuse it.

But we go along to the village anyway, which has been half destroyed already, and the village elder, as well as the mayor, appeal to Aang about dealing with some rogue spirit, Hei Bai, that has been taking people away, and causing destruction to the village every night, just past sunset. And with the solstice coming up, the attacks are just going to get worse.

So Aang goes out, alone, to face the spirit. And just as the sun sets, the spirit appears, a big, black and white creature with six limbs, enormous shoulders, and a face that screams death and destruction. I rampages through the village, destroying buildings left and right. The ground rumbles and shakes under its weight.

But despite all of the warnings about how only Aang stands a chance against Hei Bai, Sokka just won't let it go, especially once Aang gets sent flying. Sokka rushes out of the main hall, and he stupidly attacks it with his boomerang. Hei Bai sure doesn't like that, and he grabs Sokka before running out of the village and disappearing. And Aang disappears as well, giving chase to the black and white spirit.

It's been hours, and the sun has risen. And there's been no sign of either Aang or Sokka. Katara is starting to lose it. And she stays out by the gate stubbornly waiting for Aang and Sokka to come back. But since there's nothing I can do to help either of them, I busy myself with cleaning up some of the wreckage from the attack.

But Katara is determined to find them, so she takes Appa and goes off flying for a few hours in search of the two boys. But she comes back later without having found either of them. So when she sits down on the steps of the hall where everyone has taken shelter, I pat her on the shoulder. "Don't worry Katara, there's nothing in the world that can keep those two away for long. They're way too stubborn, especially your brother. He still hasn't forgiven me for being a firebender."

Katara looks at me and smiles. "Yeah, they are pretty stubborn aren't they? And I'm sure that Sokka will get used to the idea sooner or later."

I feel a little reassured by her smile, until something catches my eye in the sky. "Aang?"

Katara turns her head quickly and rushes out to meet Aang. "You're back!" But her attention soon turns elsewhere. "Where's Sokka?"

"I'm not sure…" Aang's voice hardly inspires confidence right now.

And then, things go from bad to worse as the sun begins to set. The air becomes still, before uneasy winds start to blow, making wind chimes tingle in the silence. Hei Bai appears again. But before it can destroy much, Aang sails over it and taps it on the head. He talks to it, calming it by presenting the forest spirit with an acorn. And the spirit turns back into a panda bear, the guardian of the burned down forest, before leaving and returning the people that it took.

Katara runs to her brother. "Sokka!"

"What happened?" The poor guy seems quite disoriented.

Katara starts checking him carefully. "You were trapped in the Spirit World for twenty-four hours. How are you feeling?"

"Like I seriously need to use the bathroom." Sokka toddles off to relieve himself.

The villagers thank Aang for his help in driving away the spirit, and they even give us some supplies for our journey. But more importantly, Aang wants to go to the Fire Nation, get to a temple by tomorrow, and talk to Avatar Roku in his temple. And that's a terrible idea, for a whole bunch of reasons.

So, despite my many insistences that this is a bad idea, and Aang trying to leave the three of us behind, I stow away in Appa's saddle as Aang tries to leave. "Let's go Appa! Come on boy! Look, I'm sorry, but Katara, Sokka and Ciara aren't coming to the Fire Nation with us. If they got hurt, I'd never forgive myself. So get your big butt off the ground and let's go!"

Sokka's annoyingly sarcastic voice reaches my ears next. "I think his big butt is trying to tell you something."

"Please don't go Aang. The world can't afford to lose you to the Fire Nation. Neither can I." Katara sounds so romantic that I actually sit up and peek over the edge of the saddle.

"But I have to talk to Avatar Roku to find out what my vision means." Aang is hell-bent on seeing this mission through. "I need to get to the Fire Temple before the sun sets on the solstice. That's today."

"We're not letting you go into the Fire Nation, Aang." Katara and Sokka get in front of Aang, looking determined. And then, Sokka finishes his sister's earlier sentence. "At least, not without your friends. We got your back."

Finally, I poke my head out of my blanket and roll my eyes. "If you all are finished with the fluffy, cuddly moment, then can you please get on and shut up? I need to sleep, and you guys are being too noisy." Then I shove my head back under my blanket. "Wake me up when we get there!"

* * *

I sleep for hours, until a fireball flies over our heads. That wakes me up fast, and I look over the side of the saddle to see a lone ship chasing us. "Well, three guesses who that is. My money is on Zuko."

"We need to get out of Zuko's range! Before he shoots another hot stinker at us!"

"Can't you make Appa go any faster?"

"Yeah. But there's just one little problem."

We all look ahead and see something very bad. I smile wryly. "Great, a blockade. That's going to be fun to get past."

So, after some mild arguing about what to do, to take a detour or run the blockade, Sokka and I lock eyes and agree, for once. "Let's run this blockade!"

And at Aang's command, Appa goes ahead and flies right towards the line of ships. The only problem is hanging on while Appa dodges all of the flying projectiles. But he can't dodge all of them, and I end up blasting fire at the projectiles and driving them off course. But with so much cloud cover, I can no longer tell where they're coming from. "Damn it, these clouds make it impossible to hit anything!"

That proves to be bad when one gets too close, and Sokka ends up getting knocked out of the saddle and falls towards the ocean. Aang immediately panics. "Sokka!" Katara and I hang on tight as Aang flies Appa down towards the water. I reach my hand out, and so does Katara. And between the two of us, we bring Sokka in for a safe landing.

With one last projectile coming at us while we run the blockade, Aang leaps off of Appa's head, flies towards it, and destroys it completely with a powerful blast of air. And with no room for them to fire at us, we sail right over the ships and head off towards the island.

As soon as it comes into sight, I decide that I like this island. It has mountains, a large volcano, and it's shaped like a crescent moon. And we spend the next half hour creeping into the temple, trying not to get caught.

But, getting caught seems to be on our to-do list, because the Fire Sages find us, and I have a feeling that they're not friendly. "We are the Fire Sages. Guardians of the Temple of the Avatar."

"Great! I am the Avatar!" Aang introduces himself without a second of hesitation.

"We know." And they attack us instead of helping us. So Aang disables them, and we bolt through the corridors of the temple.

Eventually, one of the sages corners us. "I don't want to fight you! I am a friend." He comes and bows before Aang. "I know why you are here Avatar, you wish to speak to Avatar Roku. I will take you to him."

Aang looks suspicious and curious at the same time. "How?" and his question is answered by the opening of a secret passageway in the wall.

And seeing as we're about to be found out, I grab Aang and Sokka. "Alright, into the secret passageway we go." I drag them in, despite their muffled protests. And the sage seals the door behind us.

And now we get into the history lessons. "Avatar Roku once called this temple his home. He formed secret passages out of the magma."

Aang finds this interesting. "Did you know Avatar Roku?"

"No." The sage shakes his head. "But my grandfather knew him. Many generations of Fire Sages guarded this temple long before me. We all have a strong spiritual connection to this place."

"Is that how you knew I was coming?"

"A few weeks ago, and amazing thing occurred. The statue of Avatar Roku, its eyes began to glow."

That gets Katara interested. "That when we were at the air temple. Avatar Roku's eyes were glowing there too."

"At that moment, we knew you had returned to the world."

And now comes the truth about the sages, about why, if this is the Avatar's temple, the sages attacked us. In the past, they were loyal only to the Avatar. But when their patience in waiting for the next Avatar was unrewarded, they lost hope that the Avatar would ever return. And the sages were then forced to serve Sozin. But now that Aang is here, our sage guide knew that he would have to betray the others in order to help us.

We climb a lot of stairs, and the sage gives Aang some instructions on what to do once inside. Only, the sanctuary doors are closed. Only a fully realized Avatar can open the door alone. Otherwise, the five sages must work together with five simultaneous fire blasts.

But to rectify our problem, Sokka gets a brilliant idea. He stuffs oil into animal skin pouches to make explosives that might be able to open the doors. So, with them all in place, the fuses are lit, and the bombs go off.

But the doors refuse to open, and Aang throws blasts of air at it in frustration. "Why won't it open?" But even though it looked as powerful as regular firebending, it didn't work. And that's when Katara gets a sneaky little plan of her own.

So we all hide, while Momo squeezes through the crack under the doors. The sage goes off to find the other sages, bringing them here so that the five of them together can open the doors and apprehend the Avatar, who is supposedly inside. In essence, it's all a ploy in order to get the doors open for Aang. And once the doors are dully open, Aang is supposed to run inside, while the rest of us subdue the sages.

We distract the sages, keeping the doors open for Aang. The sage taking the lead. "Now, Aang!"

"Aang, now's your chance!" Katara yells at Aang while dealing with a sage of her own.

But not everything goes according to plan, and Zuko appears with Aang. "The Avatar is coming with me." And with the sages gaining the upper hand, they tie up the other sage, as well as Sokka and Katara, while Zuko makes off with Aang. "Close the doors! Quickly!"

But not everything is going to go according to Zuko's plan. Aang gets free of Zuko and sprints towards the doors as they start to close. One of the sages gets in the way, so I knock him down, grab Aang by the ankle, and grin up at him. "Have a nice trip!" then I hurl him through the door and run to them, slamming them shut behind him, preventing him from being disturbed. And the doors glow brightly, telling me that Aang is safe inside the sanctuary.

I spin around, standing guard in front of the doors. "Alright, now Aang can have some alone time with his predecessor. That leaves me here to dance with you idiots."

The four sages surround me, and Zuko approaches me. "You keep interfering. Why are firebender and a sage helping the Avatar?"

My eyes flick between him and the sages, and then I smile. "Well, wouldn't you like to know? But unfortunately, it seems that you don't know your history very well, or you would already know exactly who I am. Or maybe your great-grandfather just wanted us wiped from the history books. Either way, it's your own ignorance that keeps you in the dark."

Then the sage speaks up. "It was once the sages' duty. It is still our duty."

Clapping comes from down the hallway, and a creepy guy who looks like a monkey appears. "What a moving and heartfelt performance. I'm certain that the Fire Lord will understand when you explain why you betrayed him." His eyes flicker over all of us. "And Prince Zuko, it was a noble effort, but your little smokescreen didn't work. Two traitors in one day, the Fire Lord will be pleased." Then his eyes flick directly to me. "And what about you? Who exactly are you? You have the eyes of a firebender, but I haven't seen hair like yours in nearly ten years. Such a beautiful golden brown. A color fit for a princess, wouldn't you agree?"

My eyes widen, and I leap back, getting some distance between me and him. "What the hell do you know?"

He smirks at me. "I know a lot more about you than you think I do. That is, if you really do carry the power of golden fire. But that shouldn't be possible, since the wielders of golden fire were all killed nearly ten years ago."

My hands twitch, and I move into a combat-ready stance. "Why is it that you old guys seem to be able to recognize me on sight? You're the third one, and honestly, the least pleasant."

"Maybe because you don't try to disguise yourself. Anyone who knows the old stories will know who you are as soon as they see you." His leer widens. "Men, surround her, carefully. Don't provoke her, otherwise…" And here, he looks almost demented. "You'll all end up dead."

As commanded, his men surround me. But that's not going to work on me. "So, seems like you all have some kind of death wish. Do this, and there'll be nothing left of you once I'm done."

The commander starts looking for a way to subdue me. He catches sight of Katara and Sokka, and then leers at me again. "How about this, then? Surrender, and I won't kill your friends. Fight and they'll be dead before you can reach them."

My hands twitch again. Sure, I'm fast, but with the soldiers between me and them, there's no way to win here. My eyes dart around, trying to find a way out of this as quickly as possible, but it's no use, they've outplayed me. So I bite my lip and leave my combat stance. "Fine. But if you hurt them, even burning a single hair, I will make you pay. Do not doubt that I have the power to do that." I glare at the commander as his men grab me, chain my hands together, and then tie me to the same column as Zuko.

Only now does the commander turn his attention to the closed door. And that gives Zuko the opportunity to pester me. "Alright, what does Zhao know? What the hell was he talking about, and who are you, really?"

I glare sideways at him. "None of your business. Like I said, a girl has to have her secrets. But if you really want to know, then go searching through stories. My golden fire should stick out."

And before he has the chance to ask any more questions, the doors glow brightly, and they open, letting flames spill out. And instead of Aang, the one who deflects all of the fire that gets shot at him is Avatar Roku. He gathers up the flames and sends them right back, knocking down all of the soldiers and freeing all of us as well. Zuko wastes no time and bolts immediately, sparing only a short backwards glance at me, met by my coldest glare.

And with Roku planning to destroy the temple completely, all of the sages bolt. And as the solstice ends, Aang reappears from Roku's blue form. And with only one escape route, Momo comes for us with Appa, and we jump out of the hole in the top floor's wall, and land in the saddle, before flying off and away from the Fire Nation.

But as we flee, I sit down, shaking. "He knows, which means that he's not the only one. I'm not safe; they're going to be hunting me." I look up at Aang. "I'm sorry; I brought you even more trouble."

He shakes his head. "The Fire Nation was already after us. Giving them one more reason isn't going to make a difference at this point."

"I suppose." But I still feel rather depressed. "I just hope that I don't end up locked in a cell." But considering what they did to me last time, a cell might be too much to hope for.


	9. The Waterbending Scroll

The next couple of days are tough, since Aang has been stressed beyond belief. He keeps pacing around, muttering to himself, and it's only getting worse. And Sokka notices as well. "Would you sit down? If we hit a bump, you'll go flying off. What's bugging you?" He makes a pretty good point there, though if it came down to it, either Aang could fly himself back up, or I could try using my fire to fly.

"It's what Avatar Roku said. I'm supposed to master all four elements before that comet arrives." He's freaking out. And if he had hair, I swear that he would be pulling it out right about now.

Sokka's sarcasm doesn't help. "Well, let's see. You pretty much mastered airbending, and that only took you a hundred and twelve years. I'm sure you can master three more elements by next summer."

"I haven't even started waterbending, and we're still weeks away from the North Pole! What am I gonna do?" He's getting scared, and I'm getting scared that his airbending is going to go out of control and throw us all out of the sky.

Katara grabs Aang's arm. "Calm down, it's going to be okay." She sits him back down and speaks soothingly to him. "If you want, I can try to teach you some of the stuff I know."

"You'd do that?"

Katara nods and smiles. "We'll need to find a good source of water first."

Sokka rolls his eyes. "Maybe we can find a puddle for you to splash in."

And with that, it's agreed that Katara will do her best to teach Aang, and we go in search of a place for the two of them to practice. We find a lake with a waterfall, and we touch down so that Katara and Aang can splash around and learn some waterbending. I'm sure that it far exceeds Sokka's idea of a puddle.

So while they practice their waterbending and Sokka cleans the gunk out of Appa's toes, I go ahead and take one of my nice, sunny, afternoon naps, drifting in and out of sleep, occasionally picking up glimpses of Aang's waterbending training. The others don't mind my naps, since Aang and Katara have caught me staying up all night more than once to make sure that our camps stay safe.

Aang seems to pick up waterbending quite naturally, but he's a little too free-spirited and undisciplined to start with firebending, that's pretty obvious. He'll need to steady himself with earthbending before learning the kinds of things I know.

On the other hand, his practicing has managed to not only soak Sokka and Appa, but he washed most of our supplies down the river. Except for my things, since I never let them get more than five feet from me at any time.

So we head into a nearby port town to look for new supplies, using the money that King Bumi gave us when we left Omashu. And once we've replaced everything, we walk by the port, where a very suspicious man beckons to us. "Earth Nation! Fire Nation! Water Nation! So long as bargains are your inclination, you're welcome here! Don't be shy, come on by!" We keep walking, so he runs up to us. "Oh! You there, I can see from your clothing that you're world traveling types. Perhaps I can interest you in some exotic curios?"

"Sure! What are curios?" Aang's enthusiasm gets us dragged off towards the man's ship as he pushes Aang along eager. "I'm not entirely sure. But we got 'em!" And of course, we just have to end up on a pirate ship, looking at special wares. I'm uninterested in their wares, so I head back outside to wait for the others. I try to avoid pirates if at all possible. They're overly touchy, far too friendly when they want something, and generally just a bunch of scumbags.

When they finally come back out, Katara looks nervous. And then, one of the pirates starts yelling at them. "Hey you! Get back here!"

Aang turns back to the gathering pirates. "Well, well. Look who's come to their senses. Told you the haggling would pay off."

Katara looks scared, almost irrationally so. "I don't think these pirates are here to trade with us."

"Yeah, let's get out of here!" I grab Aang as Katara starts running, and I drag him along. Whatever these pirates want, it can't possibly be good. "And this is why I hate pirates."

We sprint through the market, trying to escape the groups of pirates, and somehow, Aang ends up destroying a cabbage cart in order to trip them up. And I could swear that I saw that same cabbage seller when we were in Omashu.

We get cut off in an alley, so we run right into a dead end. "Now, who gets to taste the steel of my blade first…?" The pirate from earlier advances towards us, and I stand protectively in front of the others, since I obviously have the most experience with armed opponents. Really, the most experience in a fight period.

"No thanks." Aang airbends us some cover, and he has Sokka and Katara grab hold of his glider, since he can only hold two people. He looks down at me worriedly. "Can you get away on your own?"

I scoff. "From pirates? No problem. I've outrun worse than silly pirates." And with that, I sprint right through the disoriented pirates, then run up a wall, pull myself onto the roof, and start jumping across rooftops, easily outpacing everyone, since Aang's glider is being slowed down with the addition of two passengers. I take a different route than the others, but I meet back up with them on the outskirts of the town.

We return to our camp and start packing back up. "I used to kind of look up to pirates, but those guys are terrible." Aang shakes his head, but what surprises me is that someone as nice as Aang would look up to people as mean as pirates.

Katara smiles. "I know. That's why I took this." She pulls out a waterbending scroll. And obviously, she snatched it from inside the pirate ship.

Aang can't believe her. "No way!"

"Isn't it great?" Katara is so proud of herself. But stealing from pirates is not nearly as safe as she seems to think.

"No wonder they were trying to hack us up! You stole their waterbending scroll!" Sokka accuses his sister, not realizing just how silly he sounds to me. But as that starts another argument, I sneak away to get everything re-packed into Appa's saddle.

Katara does her best to try and learn some of the waterbending forms from the scroll, but she fails miserably and ends up seriously screaming at Aang. And as soon as the screaming starts, I just roll over and cover my ears. Whatever they decide to argue abvout isn't my problem. But, once she realizes what she did, and calms down, she hands the scroll to Aang and claims that she wants nothing more to do with it.

Though contrary to what she claimed earlier, while pretending to sleep, though still keeping a watchful eye on the campsite, I see Katara grab the scroll and sneak off with it for some late night waterbending practice. Of course, she's smart enough to sneak out of sight, but it's too late, because I've already seen her. But, since she's awake, there's no need for me to be awake as well. So I huddle up and try to get a little sleep.

After getting only a few hours of sleep, I wake up early in the morning, and I notice that Katara isn't back in her sleeping bag. She couldn't possibly still be out practicing, she just doesn't have the stamina to pull an all-night bending session. So I fold up my sleeping bag, stuff it into my pack, and put it in Appa's saddle before leaving the campsite in order to go track Katara down.

I go through the forest, listening carefully for any sounds of movement. My progress is slow, but because of my caution, I manage to avoid getting caught by the pirates who are scouring the forest. I make my way over to the river, and what I see is bad. Katara is tied to a tree, and both Sokka and Aang have been captured. It must have happened while I was off tracking. They must have left the campsite in search of Katara, and gotten themselves captured as well. And worst of all, it's not just the pirates, Zuko is there as well.

"Nice work." Zuko walks towards the pirate captain with a smile on his face.

"Aang, this is my fault." Katara looks so upset and angry with herself for this situation

"No, Katara it isn't." Aang tries reassuring her. But the fact remains; this really was all her fault, which the old man with Zuko's soldiers points out to her.

Now, Zuko gets down to business. "Give me the boy."

The captain isn't pleased. "You give us the scroll."

And then, Sokka goes and runs his mouth. "You're really going to hand over the Avatar for a stupid piece of parchment?" And now, he goes on to work Zuko and the pirates against each other by tempting the pirates with the profits they'll get by handing Aang over to the Fire Lord instead.

Suddenly, a fight breaks out between Zuko and the pirates, all because the pirates decided to go and break the deal. But only now does that idiot prince realize something important. "Wait a minute, where's the girl? Where's the firebender girl?"

I smirk to myself. Well, it's not like he's the brightest torch in the castle, but at least he's not a total idiot. He finally realized that they're down one member of our group. But it's too late for that now. I race into the clouds of dust and smoke, untie Katara, untie Sokka and Aang, and send them off towards the pirate ship so they can unmoor it.

Then, I appear right in front of Zuko, and his eyes widen in surprise. "You!"

"Me!" I smirk and sweep his legs out from under him, then aim a punch right at his face, stopping less than an inch from his nose. "You should have realized sooner that I was the one unaccounted for. And because you didn't, you're going to lose here today." I pull back my fist, slide my hand behind Zuko's back, my chest nearly touching his, quickly nab the waterbending scroll, and run off into the smoke, using it as a cover to board the ship without being seen. I stash the scroll in my shirt, just under my arm, where it won't be seen.

Once I'm on board, we take off down the river thanks to Aang and Katara getting the boat onto the river with some useful waterbending. But the pirates soon catch up to us in Zuko's boat, and it takes Katara and Aang's waterbending skills to get the pirates off the ship without killing us all, since the boat is made of wood, and I would rather not set fire to it by launching fireballs all over the place. But when we're about to go over the waterfall, Aang blows his new bison whistle, hoping to call Appa to come save us.

In the meantime, Aang and Katara use waterbending to keep the boat at the top of the waterfall, and I man the wheel, trying to keep the boat's rudder from breaking. That is, until the other boat crashes into us and sends the pirate ship cascading over the waterfall. So we jump off the boat, freefalling through the air, only to fall right into Appa's saddle before the fall seriously hurts us all.

Aang pats Appa on the head. "I knew a bison whistle would come in handy. Thanks Appa."

Sokka agrees. "We owe you one."

But once we're in the clouds, Katara goes all humble. "Aang, I still owe you an apology. You were just so good at waterbending without really trying. I got so competitive that I put us all in danger. I'm sorry."

Aang smiles. "That's okay Katara."

"Besides, who needs that stupid scroll anyway?" Katara's words make me smirk, so I reach into my sleeve and pull out the scroll.

I smirk and wave it in front of her eyes. "In that case, why did I bother slipping this out of Zuko's belt? I thought you were planning on using it. If you weren't, then I should have just left it where it was. What a waste…" I try to have a disappointed expression, but the smirk ruins it.

Katara's eyes widen and she smothers me in a hug, nearly tossing me out of the saddle. "Oh thank you Ciara! You're the greatest!"

I smile and pat her on the head. "If I had a little sister, this is what I imagine she'd be like. Though maybe a bit more rude and belligerent, if I'm any indication."

Sokka rolls his eyes. "Well, you're older than the rest of us, so you could be our big sister."

I smile gently at him. "Well then, I guess you can all treat me like your big sister. We're basically a family by this point anyway. A dysfunctional family of teenaged warriors. Yep, just your typical family…"


	10. Jet

And our typical family keeps traveling, only to have Momo get trapped in a cage in the forest. So, when we find the cages, Fire Nation work, judging by the style of the metalwork. We set the trapped animals free, and they scamper back into the forest. Except for Momo, who leaps onto my shoulder and snuggles into my hair, where it's nice and warm. So, since there are obviously Fire Nation troops around, we pack up and get to moving on.

But Sokka immediately objects to flying. "Uh-uh, no flying this time."

"What? Why wouldn't we fly?" Aang is clearly confused by Sokka's logic.

Sokka gets frustrated. "Think about it. Somehow, Prince Zuko and the Fire Nation keep finding us. It's because they spot Appa, he's just too noticeable."

"What? Appa's not too noticeable!" Katara turns on her brother irritably.

"He's a gigantic fluffy monster with an arrow on his head! It's kind of hard to miss him!" And here we go with the brother and sister argument, again, with Aang just sitting out and babying Appa. Honestly, sometimes I wish those two would just shut up and stop yelling at each other. Then again, some of their arguments do get rather entertaining to watch. At least, whenever there happens to be some waterbending involved. And Appa gives a little roar in response to Sokka's comments. "I know you all want to fly, but my instincts tell me that we should play it safe this time and walk."

Katara immediately jumps on him for that. "Who made you the boss?"

"I'm not the boss, I'm the leader." Sokka says it as though there's a distinction between the two.

Katara snickers. "You're the leader? But your voice still cracks!"

"I'm the oldest, and I'm a warrior." And then his voice does crack. "So, I'm the leader."

"If anyone's the leader, it's Aang." And Katara looks at him all dewy-eyed. "I mean, he is the Avatar."

"Are you kidding? He's just a goofy kid."

And unhelpfully, Aang hangs upside down and smiles. "He's right."

Katara finally gets overly frustrated. "Why do boys always think that someone has to be the leader? I bet you wouldn't be so bossy if you kissed a girl."

"I've kissed a girl! You just…haven't met her." And now, the siblings get into a fight that ranges from Sokka's instincts to who he's kissed. And finally, Aang interrupts. "You know, if we really need a leader, then what about Ciara? She's older than all of us, plus she's a strong bender, and she's smart, good at tracking, really good with survival, and she's the most mature one here. Plus, we all listen to her anyway. She'd make a great leader."

I look at Aang, a little worried. "Hold up, you want me to lead? That's a terrible idea! I don't want to lead. When you lead, people bring all of the problems to you, no matter how you feel about it. So no thank you." Then I sigh. "On another note, I agree with Sokka on one point, Appa really sticks out, it's probably how Zuko keeps finding us. Unless we're above the clouds, we're kind of visible to anyone who decides to look up. And isn't completely blind."

"Thank you!" Sokka waves to me happily.

I roll my eyes and lie down in the saddle. "That said, we stick out anyway. We're four kids on an adventure. No parents, no supervision, three of us are benders, and one is just weird. We've got two exotic animals, and wander around getting into trouble. We need no help getting attention." My little tirade embarrasses all three of them a little, which means that my work is done. And I've successfully diverted the topic from Aang's suggestion. "Now, if you all don't mind, I need to get some sleep, I was up all night keeping watch, again. So if we're walking, I'm staying in the saddle while I sleep. If we're going to get into a battle, like usual, I'm going to need it"

"Alright, sleep well!" Aang grins at me, so I roll over and pull a blanket over my head, and I fall asleep in a moment. With all of them keeping watch, I can sleep without the need to wake up.

I wake up in an unfamiliar place, so I immediately start to panic. I look around quickly. "Aang? Katara? Sokka?" I look at my hands; they're not bound, so I'm not a prisoner. _If I'm not a prisoner…then where am I? And where are the others? Did they leave me here to sleep?_

Suddenly, a boy pokes his head into the room I'm in. "So you're finally awake. You slept through a battle, being brought up here by an airbender, and a full-blown party. That's pretty impressive by our standards."

I look at him suspiciously. "Yeah, I can sleep; I was the one on night watch last night, so of course I slept soundly. Actually, I'm usually the one on night watch duty, so I tend to sleep a lot during the day. So when I'm the only one asleep, I sleep like a rock. It makes up for the light sleep I get the rest of the time. So, I suppose that you're our host."

"That's right. We ran into your friends in the woods, they decided to ambush some firebenders, and needed a little help. So me and a few friends stepped in to help." He smirks at me. "So, are you a bender like Katara and Aang?"

Since I don't know him, I would rather not tell him that I'm a firebender. It's my general recourse when meeting new people. The less they know, the better. "No, I'm not. But I've got martial arts skills, plus I can hunt, track, and survive in the wilderness by myself for years. My specialty is unarmed combat, the only weapon I need is my body. I also hunt sometimes to get food for the others. I'm kind of like their mother sometimes. A big sister at other times. And the one they complain to more often than I care to hear them." Then I yawn pointedly. "But for now, I've needed my sleep. I've pulled too many all-nighters recently, and with all of the battles we find ourselves in, I've been seriously lacking sleep. We've fought Fire Nation troops, pirates, and the elements. So I'm beat. And that was a great nap."

I get to my feet and leave the hut, keeping an eye on the guy who came to see me. Then I turn to him. "By the way, what's your name?"

He smiles charmingly at me. "Jet."

"Well then, Jet." I smile right back at him. "There's something weird about you, and I don't like it. Maybe it's just because you're too charming. I hate flirty guys, and I've come across more than a few in my travels. So if you even try to hit on me, I'll put you in the ground. Are we clear?"

He looks surprised, then nods. "Crystal clear."

I stay up all night, watching the festivities from a distance. This place is bad for me, a hideout in the trees, far too easy for me to burn down if something happens. And there's something here that rings false to me. There's something I don't trust. And I observe the Freedom Fighters until they go to sleep.

When dawn starts to break, I leave the maze of tree forts and go find Appa. Once I find the big pile of fur and love, I cuddle up on his belly and fall asleep again. It has been a rough trip so far, and Sokka's instincts might be out of whack, but mine are screaming at me that Jet is more than he appears. I saw cunning in his eyes, a ruthlessness that I hate with a passion.

Sokka finds me and wakes me up. "Ciara, I need your help. Jet is planning to destroy the village. I just escaped from his lackeys, you have to believe me!"

I sigh and open my eyes. "Is that all? I thought that he was planning to take over the world."

"This is serious!" Sokka grabs my arm and squeezes tightly. "Aang and Katara don't believe me! You're the only one I can turn to."

I stretch my arms and glare at him. "I know, he's managed to sweet talk Aang and Katara into following him. But I've known that Jet was bad news ever since I woke up. Everything about him smells like deception and violence. I'd like to think that I'm a better judge of character than the rest of you."

Sokka looks a little relieved. "Then let's go." Sokka tugs on my arm, and I get up and dust myself off.

I nod and run at his side. "If this is going to save people, then I'm in. But I'm not going to bend in front of people, I'll tell you that now. Everything short of bending, you can ask me to do."

Sokka looks at me curiously, then smiles. "Thanks Ciara…maybe Aang was right. Maybe you should be the leader."

I shake my head. "Don't ask me to do that. I'm not ready to be responsible for the lives of others. Not yet." He nods, and with only the valley below us, we take off towards the town.

The two of us race down to the town, where we quickly inform the townspeople that the dam is going to break and flood the town, and that they need to pack their essentials and leave. But they ignore us, they don't believe us. Probably because we're a couple of suspicious kids, in an area where kids are doing all of the terrorizing. And the Fire Nations soldiers try to arrest us, thinking that we're a couple of spies, here for espionage or sabotage.

But after a lot of convincing, and an old man that Sokka stood up for stepping up to vouch for us, the townspeople listen, and prepare their belongings for an evacuation. We clear the exits to the town, and leave them open for a full and fast evacuation. And the troops do their part in evacuation the citizens.

While Sokka runs off to get Appa, I stand on a hill, overlooking the town. And I watch as the people finish evacuating, keeping an eye on the children, and the elderly. The last thing we need is for someone vulnerable to be left behind in the path of the disaster.

A few explosions later, the dam gets blown to bits. Water rushes into the valley and floods the town in a vicious torrent of destruction. I have to remind myself that while fire might be a dangerous element, the other three have their own dangers as well. Jet has gone way too far today. But the residents are safe, and that's what counts. Sokka and I succeeded, and that's what really matters.

Sokka comes for me on Appa, after having picked up Aang and Katara. I jump into the saddle and smile at them. "Looks like Sokka and I work well together."

Aang looks at us with wide eyes. "We thought you were going to the dam. How come you went to the town instead?"

Katara laughs. "Let me guess, your instincts told you."

"Hey, sometimes they're right." Sokka shrugs, looking just a little proud of himself.

Aang points behind us. "Um…Sokka? You know we're going the wrong way, right?"

"And sometimes they're wrong." Sokka turns us around, and flies us back towards the north.

I suppress a few giggles, knowing that my instincts are sharper than our resident navigator's. "Now, since we're going in the right direction, and Sokka so rudely interrupted my nap, I'm going to take another. Saving towns is exhausting."

He nods and tosses me my blanket. "Go ahead. But be ready for tonight, you're on night watch again."

I roll my eyes and laugh. "That's because I'm the only one who can see well at night. You can thank my years of survival training for that."

Sokka smirks and pulls the blanket over my head. "Yeah, yeah, now go to sleep. You need to be up in five hours for your shift."

I chuckle quietly as I drift off to sleep, snuggled between Aang and Katara, who are both pretty tired after our adventure today. Leaving Sokka to fly us to wherever we're off to next.


	11. The Great Divide

All we seem to do lately is solve people's problems. And that tension is getting to Sokka and Katara, who start getting on each other's cases for not doing their jobs properly. Something about Katara's firewood being more like kindling, and Sokka not putting the rainproof tarp over the tent. Luckily, I have my own small tent that I can set up if I think it's going to rain, though most of the time, I just sleep in the open, or during the day. And luckily for me, my jobs usually involve hunting for food, lighting the fire pit, and keeping watch during the night. So when Aang gets back from gathering berries and sees them fighting, he settles it all by making them switch jobs. And when Momo and Appa start fighting over a fruit, he just cuts it in half for them. He plays a very good mediator.

Once the others are asleep, I turn over in the tent and smile at Aang. "You know, I think it's a good thing that you're just a kid."

"Oh?" His eyes widen. "Why's that?"

"Because you look at everything so innocently. There's no devious masterminding with you. You just do what feels right, you follow your instincts, and you live life to the fullest. Too many people are obsessed with power, and lording it over others. But you're not like that. You haven't lived long enough to become that. And if you always hold on to the way you are now, then you'll never be like that. Treasure your friends, because they're what make life worth it."

He blinks. "Wow, you should be one of the nuns at the air temples. You're kind and wise, and you care about people."

I chuckle a little. "Except, I'm a firebender. I don't think firebenders can be nuns at the air temples. Besides, I'm very free-spirited, and I don't think that I could tie myself down to any place for long. Not unless I found a reason to stay."

Aang snuggles up to me, which surprises me a little. "Sokka's right, you could be our big sister. Okay, it's official; you are the big sister of our family. Our kind and wise big sister." And then, the little guy just falls asleep, pressed against me. And tonight, since we're in the middle of nowhere, I sleep the night away.

In the morning we come to a huge canyon. And Aang seems really excited. "There it is guys, the Great Divide."

"Wow, I could just stare at it forever." Katara seems a little star-struck by the landscape.

Sokka, on the other hand, is highly unimpressed. "Okay, I've seen enough."

"How can you not be fascinated, Sokka? This is the largest canyon in the entire world."

"Then I'm sure that we'll be able to see it very clearly from the air while we fly away."

Suddenly, a guy runs past Sokka, nearly tripping him, and gets all up in our faces. "Hey! If you're looking for the canyon guide, I was here first!"

And this is where I just start tuning them out. I walk to the edge of the canyon and look out across it. It really is quite a magnificent piece of the natural world. I only wish that it were a little more colorful. All the brown is a little depressing. But the rock formations are gigantic, and it's amazing that nature can make such beautiful works of art.

But my contemplation of the immensity of the canyon is interrupted by the arrival of an entire tribe, and their leader gets into a heated argument with the man who nearly knocked Sokka over. Though their argument gets interrupted by the arrival of said earthbending canyon guide. "Sorry about the wait youngsters. Who's ready to cross this here canyon?"

And then, they get into an argument over which tribe is going to go through the canyon first, seeing as one of the tribes isn't actually present. Well, for long. They end up arriving just a little late, from having been busy packing up their campsite.

Ad now, they get into an argument over which tribe gets to go, because one tribe has sick people, and the other has old people. And then they start arguing over how if the Ganjins weren't so clean, they wouldn't live as long, or if the Zhangs weren't so dirty, then maybe they wouldn't have so many sick. All in all, it's a stupid and pointless argument, and I've heard children's arguments that carried more weight.

And now, Katara gets involved. "Everyone! Listen up!" She points to Aang. "This is the Avatar. And if you give him a chance, I'm sure that he will come up with a compromise that will make everyone happy."

Now Aang is on the spot. "Uh, you could share the earthbender and travel together?"

And despite the logic of the suggestion, that just starts a whole new wave of arguments. And that pisses Aang right off. "Alright, here's the deal! You're all going down together, and Appa here will fly your sick and elderly across! Does that seem fair?"

The two group leaders finally agree, so Aang and I get the sick and elderly of both tribes into the saddle. Then Aang turns to me. "I want you to go with them and make sure that they get to the other side safely. You should be able to keep them calm, and mediate any arguments that they have. You seem like you'd be good at that."

I nod. "Alright, but if any of them piss me off, I'm going to yell at them."

He smiles and sends us off with a wave. Appa soars into the sky and I turn him so that he's flying in a straight line to the other end of the canyon. My charges stay quiet for the most part. I guess I got lucky, these sick and old people are feeling poorly enough that I don't have to deal with any arguing. That, or they're just sick and tired of it. I smile wryly at the irony of that thought.

A few hours later, we finish passing over the canyon, and no one has fallen out. Not even the three children that joined the group, as they're too small and weak to make the journey through the canyon. I keep them all under my watchful eye, until we touch down in the afternoon.

Setting up camp for the night is easy enough, and one of the Ganjin approaches me. "Miss, thank you for ferrying us across the canyon."

I glance at her. "You're welcome. Now you should go to sleep, it's going to be a long night while we wait for your tribes to join us."

The old woman looks at me strangely. "What about you? Where is your tent?"

"I don't need one. I'm not going to sleep."

Her surprise is evident. "Why not?"

I sigh and shake my head. "Someone needs to be on night duty, and I'm usually the one fulfilling that role. So it only makes sense that I stay up to make sure nothing happens. We could get attacked by wildlife, bandits, firebenders, and who knows what else. So, I'm going to stay up and keep watch."

Her gaze is sympathetic, and she hands me a bag. "Here, you haven't eaten all day. And try to get some rest young one."

I nod and watch as they all retreat to their tents for the night. I eat the food that the old woman gave me, and I entertain myself by drawing games in the dirt, keeping watch until the sun finally starts to rise over the trees.

We stay camped out there for another day, and at sunrise, I sense something heading our way. I get everyone away from the cliffs, only to see Aang, riding some kind of huge bug, and leading an army of those huge bugs, all with the members of the two tribes on their backs. Well, it's a creative way to scale the cliff, I'll give him that much.

And once everyone is off the bugs, he throws a bag of food back down into the canyon, and they all follow it. I approach Aang and pat him on the head. "Creative solution. Nicely done."

"Thanks, it just came to me when I remembered riding the wild hog-monkey a couple of weeks ago." I roll my eyes at his foolishness. But it served him well this time, and I can't fault him for that.

But with the tribes finally turning on each other again, Aang's brain goes into overdrive. "Wait a second…Jin Wei? Wei Jin? I know those guys!"

The Ganjin leader sighs. "Yes, yes, we're all aware of the story."

Aang shake his head. "No, I mean I really knew them. I might not look it, but I'm a hundred and twelve years old. I was there one hundred years ago on the day you're talking about. There seems to be a lot of confusion about what happened. First of all, Jin Wei and Wei Jin weren't enemies. They were brother, twins in face, and they were eight; and most importantly, thery were just playing a game!"

Already, I know that this story is a bunch of crap. But Aang is sure creative, using his age and their ignorance of the real truth to his advantage. "The sacred orb from the legend, that was the ball! And the eastern and western gates, those were the goal posts. Jin Wei had the ball and was running toward the goal when he fell and fumbled it. Wei Jin didn't steal the ball, he picked it up and started running it toward the other goal, but he stepped out of bound, so the official put him in the penalty box. Not for twenty long years, but for two short minutes. There was no stealing or putting anyone in prison, it was just a game."

"You're saying the sacred orb was actually a sacred ball?"

"Nope, just a regular ball."

"What about our tribe's redemption ritual?"

Aang smiles. "That's what the game was called. Redemption. As soon as you got the ball from one end to the other, everyone would yell "redemption"!" The leaders look unsure, so Aang continues spinning his story. "Don't get me wrong. Wei Jin was kind of a slob and jin Wei was a little stuffy, that much is true. But they respected each other's differences enough to share the same playing field."

The leaders look at each other. "I suppose it's time to forget the past." "And look to the future."

He spins them a story about how Jin Wei and Wei Jin weren't enemies, they were brothers, twins, and eight years old, the sacred orb was actually a ball, the east and west gates were goal posts. Wei Jin didn't steal the ball, he just tried to score with it. But he stepped out of bounds and got put in the penalty box for two minutes, not twenty years. And the whole Redemption Ritual thing, that was the game, the name of the game was Redemption.

And only once the tribes are gone, does Aang admit that he actually lied and made the whole story up. It's cunning and brilliant, and Aang is a crafty little liar. Once the tribes are out of sight, I nudge Aang. "Did the monks teach you how to lie like that? Or are you just naturally an imaginative little squirt?"

He laughs and rubs the back of his head. "Well…the monks always taught us not to lie, but we didn't always listen to them."

I smile at him and pat his shoulder. "Well, it served your purposes. That's all that matters."


	12. The Blue Spirit

With Aang's nightmares getting progressively worse over the next couple of weeks, I start getting seriously worried about him. Nightmares are never good, and I should know, I have them all the time. Luckily for me, I don't wake up screaming anymore, so none of them know. But with our supplies dwindling, we need to head to a town and find a market. Despite Sokka's crazy dream about going to a market and there being food that eats people. It's impossible, so we all just ignore him and fly off to the nearest town.

As is usual, I stay sitting on Appa while the others go around the market. Someone has to stay with our stuff and make sure no one gets any funny ideas about swiping it. And the best way to make sure that happens is by making sure that Appa isn't seen. But when Katara comes back without Sokka or Aang, I know that something is wrong. She won't speak up and tell me what's going on. And with the storm blowing in, I'm getting nervous.

Katara has Appa fly after Aang, who has taken off towards a mountain cave. It starts raining, heavily, so I put up the tarp over Appa's saddle while Katara goes into the cave to talk to Aang. I figure that if he's upset, then Katara is the best person to talk to him right now, and going in there myself would only make things worse.

Eventually, Appa walks into the cave to find the fire, and once he's dried off, I snuggle up against him and fall asleep, trying to wait out the storm. I've never liked storms. Whenever they form, I have to run for cover. It's just an instinct after being alone in the wilderness for so long. To me, storms signal doom.

What wakes me up is Aang's violent outburst. "How could they do that to me? They wanted to take away everything I knew and everyone I loved!"

"Whoa, hot cinders!" Katara freaks out a little as the fire goes a little out of control because of Aang's angry wind blasts.

And not letting Aang know that I woke up, I listen quietly as he talks about how the monks wanted to separate him from Gyatso, and send him away to the Eastern Air Temple. I hear about how he ran away, got caught in a storm, and ended up sealing himself in a ball of ice for a hundred years. Because the next thing he knew, after the storm, he was waking up in Katara's arms.

Now, he's falling into a pit of self-loathing, for having abandoned the world for a hundred years. But Katara won't have any of that, she's convinced that this was meant to be, that now is when the world needs him most. And I think I agree. If he had stayed, he would have died with his people. But now, he has a chance to make everything right again, a chance that he wouldn't have had if he hadn't run away.

"Help!" An old woman's voice calls into the cave and I finally open my eyes. "Oh, please help!"

Katara runs to help her, and brings her over to the fire. "It's okay, you're safe."

"But my husband isn't."

"What do you mean?" Then Katara realizes who the old woman is. "Where's Sokka?"

"They haven't returned, they should have been back by now. And this storm is becoming a typhoon. They're caught out at sea."

Aang gets to his feet. "I'm going to find them."

"I'm going with you." Katara is determined to not let Aang do this alone.

The old woman sits down. "I'm staying here."

Katara looks at me and I shake my head. "I'll be next to useless out there. Storms are bad for me, and I'm sure you can figure out why."

Aang nods, and he and Katara head out into the storm on Appa. They return an hour later with the old fisherman and Sokka, and it turns out that that storm has finally stopped. And after Appa shakes all of the water out of his fur, we get back in the saddle and take off again for the next stop on our journey to the North Pole.

But a complication arises quickly, as Sokka starts getting sick from having been out in that raging storm for too long. He's feverish, delirious, and the situation is getting worse. And while tending to her brother, Katara catches whatever Sokka's got, and she starts coughing, the same way he started.

That grabs Aang's attention immediately. "Not you too!"

"Relax, it's just a little cough. I'm fi-" Katara stars coughing violently, ending with a groan.

Aang shields himself from the coughing. "That's how Sokka started yesterday. Now look at him! He thinks he's an earthbender!" Sokka's delirium continues, so Aang makes a choice. "A few more hours and you'll be talking nonsense too. I'm going to find some medicine." He makes to go off with his glider, but there is too much lightning out. "Uh, maybe it's safer if I go on foot." He turns to me. "Ciara, you coming?"

I shrug. "Sure, anything to get away from these two. I don't want to catch whatever they've got."

So, Aang and I run off to the mountain to get some medicine from an herbalist. And since it's kind of cold out, I start radiating a warm aura. Aang notices immediately. "I didn't know you could do that!"

I grin at him. "I can do a lot of things with my firebending, not just fight. And sometimes, I don't even need my hands or feet, I can firebend just by breathing. I can firebend just by being…"

That impresses him. "If you can bend without your hands and feet, then you really are a master."

I grin, "Actually, there's something else I can do. You can run with the wind right? Well, watch this!"

I take off at a run, and my pace speeds up as fire flashes around my feet. It's a trick I use for running faster, I use the fire as propulsion, and each step I take is like taking ten steps. I can also use it to move through the air, but it gets harder to control the higher up I go. And at a certain altitude, it eventually stops working altogether.

Finally, once Aang starts running like the wind, we make it to the herbalist's home at the top of the mountain. We enter what looks like a greenhouse, and Aang immediately goes up to the old lady inside and starts yammering on about how Sokka and Katara need medicine.

I busy myself with looking around the greenhouse, and I see several herbs and plants that I recognize. Since I've spent a lot of time in the wilderness, I know a lot of plants that help with curing everything from fevers to injuries. And this old woman has an amazing selection. She must have been growing them up here for years.

Aang finally gets the information we need from the herbalist, and he drags me off. "Ciara! We're going to the swamp to look for frozen frogs."

I blink and wrench my hand out of his grip so that I can run with him. "Alright, but what are frozen frogs good for?"

He looks at me with a hint of disgust on his face. "They're for sucking on."

"Gross." I gag a little as we run, but then, I put it out of my mind. We're gathering them for Katara and Sokka, I'm not going to have to suck on them, they will.

But what we run into isn't the swamp, it's archers, and they pin Aang down by his boots. I dodge the first couple of arrows, until one of them hitches itself on one of the buckles of my bag, and pins me to the ground.

A barrage of arrows comes at us, only to be deflected by some of Aang's airbending. But the precision of the arrows is what chills me, these archers are the real deal, they're master marksmen. Aang manages to free himself, but I'm still stuck, and he's too busy with dodging arrows. The arrow in my bag buckle has me pinned down in such a way that I can't exert my full strength to pull it out, and I can't take off my bag.

So, I go with my back-up plan. I burn the arrow to ashes, and then start running. Unfortunately, the archers have me surrounded, and there's no way that I can block all of the arrows, no matter how much fire I produce.

So, I jump. I leap through the air and take off like a rocket. I swirl fire around me and fly through the air, trying to make an escape. But the storm forces me back down into the trees, and it's there that the archers trap me, pinning me to a tree with a multitude of arrows.

They chain me up and drag me back to their fortress, where that Zhao guy is eagerly waiting for me. They lock me in a room with two pillars, which hold the chains that circle my hands and feet. And after being chased through a forest, I'm in no mood for playing games.

After a couple of hours, Zhao comes to see me, a smug grin plastered all over his face. "Well, well, well. It looks like I have my hands on quite a little prize." He smirks. "So, what should I call you? The Avatar called you Ciara, so you would prefer for me to call you that?" Then his smirk turns into a leer. "Or would you like me to address you by your formal title? Princess Ciara of the Eastern Isles."

I glare at him. "You're only calling me that to rub my exile in my face. I know who I am, so I don't care what you call me."

He rubs his fingers along my chin, which gives me the creeps. "You know, for a princess in exile, you're not very polite."

"The animals in the wilderness don't care how polite you are." I spit in his face and his smirk fades. "Now leave me alone, unless you're planning to kill me right now."

He wipes the spit from his face and walks around me. "There's something I need to confirm. If you really are the princess, then I'll know as soon as I see your back." He lifts up the back of my shirt and runs his grubby hands over the skin of my back. "And there it is; the proof that you can wield golden fire. What a terrible, and yet, so appropriate punishment. The more you flaunt your power, the faster your life burns out."

He removes his hand and walks back around to face me. "I'm going to get information out of you. So feel free to scream."

He punches me in the stomach and I bite my tongue, forcing me to cough out the blood. Then he smacks my face with the back of his hand. "Now tell me! Are there are others who escaped the execution?"

I glare at him. "You mean the massacre? I don't know, and why would I? I was six years old, and I barely managed to escape and survive. I've been struggling to survive ever since, so how would I know if anyone else survived?"

"Because you would have seen the bodies." He sneers at me. "Because you would know if there were any bodies missing from the pile. You would know if maybe we missed your mother, or your father."

And that's when he crosses the line. My eyes light up with golden fire and I scream. "You bastard!" Fire erupts from my mouth and fills the room. I struggle against the chains, but to no avail. I may have scorched Zhao, but there is no escape from these strong chains.

Zhao brushes ash off his clothing. "Well, perhaps a week without food will make you more talkative. I have no qualms about killing you, remember that. And no one will miss you if you die." He turns on heel and leaves the room, locking the door firmly behind him.

I spend the next hour trying to pull myself free from the chains. But all that I get for my efforts are red scrapes on my wrists. I scream and breathe fire to express my anger and frustration, but there's not much else I can do, other than rage like an angry dragon.

Eventually, I stop thrashing around, and just wait until I fall into unconsciousness. But it seems that it won't be happening so soon, because noises outside my door catch my attention, and I lift my head to see the door swing open, revealing Aang, and a figure in black with a blue demon mask.

Aang runs up to me, then sees how beat up I am. "Ciara…what did he do to you?"

"Nothing that a bath won't fix."

"Did he use his firebending on you?"

And at that, I shake my head, smiling. "No, all of the scorch marks you see here are mine. I got a little angry with him and tried to roast him alive. Plus, I've spent about half my time here trying to get free. And when a firebender tries to get themselves free, things tend to get a little hot."

The one in the blue mask approaches and Aang steps back. With two quick swipes of his large broadswords, the masked man frees my hands and feet from the shackles. Then he backs away as Aang helps me to find my balance.

I glance at the masked man and incline my head. "Thank you for freeing me." Then I turn to Aang. "I hope you have a plan for getting out of here, because I don't."

The masked man shakes his head and motions for us to follow him. Aang shrugs, so I figure that if the guy came here to free us both, he's probably not going to lead us into a trap. So we follow him through a bunch of hallways, and then, right into the sewers.

Stealth is our main concern as we move through the compound, and it's a good thing that all three of us are good with stealth, otherwise we would never make it past any of the guards. But just as we make it to one of the walls, the alarms sound, which means that our escape has been discovered. And Zhao can't possibly be happy with that.

We fall back down the wall when a guard at the top cuts the rope that we used to start scaling it. Thankfully, Aang makes a cushion of air at the bottom for us to break our fall with. Guards come pouring out of one of the gates, coming right at us in a horde.

So, since escape is our main concern, the three of us charge forwards, only to be stopped by guards. Aang manages to break through them, but since our rescuer gets caught up in a huge fight, Aang doesn't make it through the gates before they close, opting instead to go back and help our rescuer. And since I won't abandon Aang, I run back to help as well.

I unleash torrents of fire in every direction, not caring that now; they can all see my golden fire. I end up back to back with Aang, and we bend our elements so quickly that we take most of the guards by surprise as we knock them to the ground.

"Ciara, can you fly at all?"

"Yeah, why?"

Aang points to the wall. "Let's go." He grabs our rescuer and uses his staff, spinning it fast enough to create an updraft that carries the both of them into the air.

So I follow along, shooting flames from my feet and using them to jump sixty feet into the air. I land hard on top of the wall, but all three of us have made it up here. And we work together, fending off attacks from all directions.

The soldiers come at us with ladders, and while Aang and the stranger do well at keeping them clear, the problem is that they're still there. "Hey you two, get away from the ladders!"

Obediently, the two of them back away. And while they seem to expect me to set the ladders on fire, I one-up their expectations. I take a deep breath and breathe a torrent of fire down the side of the wall, incinerating the ladders and sending several unlucky soldiers tumbling into the dirt. I grab the two of them and grin. "Alright, hang on tight, because I've never tried this before."

I focus fire in my feet and leap through the air, with a little help from Aang's airbending. And the first jump succeeds, getting us safely to the next wall. I do it again, and we land on another wall. But the last wall is far, and when I try to get us over there, I end up falling short. So I throw the two of them at the wall, hoping that they'll make it over. Unfortunately, I'm still a girl, and there is only do far that I can throw two guys.

We all slide down the wall, trapped only a few meters from freedom. The firebenders attack us, and Aang shields the three of us with a burst of air. Then, Zhao appears. "Hold your fire! The Avatar must be captured alive!"

That gives the stranger and opening, he steps around me and puts his swords to Aang's throat, silently threatening to kill him if Zhao doesn't let us walk out of here. And I assume that he means to rescue me as well, since he's placed the two of them between me and Zhao.

Now, Zhao makes a choice. "Open the gate. Let them out. Now!" And at his command, the gate opens.

I quickly back out of the stronghold, and the stranger backs out as well, keeping Aang close to him. And as the three of us continue to back away from the compound, gaining quite a bit of distance, something feels wrong to me.

And as we're several hundred feet from the compound, an arrow comes flying out of nowhere and smacks right into the stranger's mask, knocking him backwards. His mask comes loose, and I recognize the scar tissue on the side of his face. Our rescuer is Zuko. Aang seems to realize it too, and I nod at him. "Let's go."

Aang makes a smokescreen to cover our escape, and I take off the mask, and then heft Zuko onto my back. Aang grabs the swords and the mask, and we make a run for it, sprinting off into the forest. Thankfully, Zuko isn't too much heavier than a deer, and I've carried those before, so he doesn't slow me down too badly as we run into the forest.

Once we're out of range of the archers, and we know that the guards aren't following us, we stop running, and we sit down to rest. I lay Zuko down and try to make him comfortable. It's the least I can do after he ran into that fortress and risked his life to save the both of us.

Aang and I take turns sleeping until dawn breaks, which is when Zuko finally wakes up. Aang looks sad as our unexpected ally looks around and registers the situation. "You know what the worst part about being born over a hundred years ago is? I miss all the friends I used to hang out with. Before the war started, I used to always visit my friend Kuzan. The two of us, we'd get in and out of so much trouble together. He was one of the best friends I ever had." Then Aang turns to look at Zuko. "And he was from the Fire Nation, just like you. If we met each other back then, do you think we could have been friends too?"

Without any warning at all, Zuko shoots a blast of fire at Aang. So, Aang takes off. "I'll see you back at camp!" And Aang disappears from sight.

Zuko looks at me, and I fold my arms across my chest. "Well, it looks like you've got some interesting hobbies, Prince Zuko."

He looks at me suspiciously. "Why did you bring me here?"

"Because you broke us out." I say it as though it should be obvious. "You saved us, so we saved you. Simple, really."

I turn to leave, but he grabs my wrist. "Wait!"

I look back at him and I shake my head. "I know you have questions, but you don't want the answers, trust me. They're not pleasant. And you've got enough issues to deal with." Then I sigh. "My name is Ciara. And my story is not one that you want to hear, because it's even worse than yours." Then I wrench my arm from his grip and take off, jumping high into the trees and quickly disappearing from his line of sight.

I meet Aang back at camp and fall asleep slowly. Thoughts race through my head, and I can't help wondering if Zuko is going to be alright. His injuries weren't bad, but I know what he's thinking, and if he doubts himself, then that makes him indecisive and dangerous. But dangerous for whom, is the real question here. His actions are self-serving, and he's going to have to pick a side. Which side he picks, and his actions from here on out are going to determine what kind of encounters we'll have in the future.


	13. The Fortuneteller

We continue to travel north, camping out on the sides of lakes and rivers, up mountains and the like. And one morning, after Aang gives Katara a necklace that he made out of Sokka's fishing line, we run into a traveler being attacked by a platypus bear. Aang, Sokka and Katara try to give him advice on what to do, but he doesn't take any of it. Not that I would, all of the advice seems rather stupid.

The strangest part about the traveler is that he's dodging the animal by dancing around. And he seems completely fine with being attacked by the bear. He's convinced that it's all going to be fine. But just when Aang moves to intervene, Appa gets behind the creature and roars. The platypus bear is so scared that it lays an egg before running off.

The strange traveler tells us about a fortune teller in his village name Aunt Wu. And before he leaves, he gives Aang a package. Aang opens it and discovers an umbrella just as it starts to rain. And now, Katara and Sokka start having an argument over whether or not it's possible to tell the future. I shield myself from the downpour with Appa's tail, until Sokka predicts that the rain is going to continue, and as if to prove him wrong, the rain stops. I snicker quietly at his expense for the next few minutes, not that he would know.

We continue on to a village that rests under the sight of a volcano. And when we make our way to a nice-looking house, a servant meets us at the door. "Aunt Wu is expecting you."

So we go inside to meet this fortune teller, and an assistant comes out to greet us. And immediately, she's all over Aang. Obviously, she developed a crush on him as soon as she saw him. Childish, but then again, it's kind of cute. She leaves, and then comes back with a snack for Aang. But hurries off again as an elderly lady comes to see us.

"Welcome young travelers. Now who's next? Don't be shy."

"I guess that's me." Katara gets up from her cushion after Sokka and Aang stare at her. And she goes off with the old lady to who knows where.

Sokka starts stuffing his face, but Aang seems more worried about what Katara is doing. "So, what do you think they're talking about back there?"

"Boring stuff, I'm sure." Sokka just doesn't know when to shut his mouth. "Love, who she's going to marry, how many babies she's going to have."

Aang looks alarmed. "Yeah…dumb stuff like that." Then he freaks out a little. "Well, I gotta find a bathroom." And he gets up and takes off.

Five minutes later, Aang comes back, looking very happy. And seconds later, Aunt Wu returns. "Alright, who's next?"

Sokka gets up and stretches. "Okay, let's get this over with."

But Aunt Wu seems content to do her reading right in front of all of us. "Your future is full of struggle and anguish. Most of it, self-inflicted."

"But you didn't read my palms or anything!" Sokka looks very confused.

"I don't need to; it's written all over your face."

So she takes Aang with her next, and Katara sits down next to me. "She told me about my love life. She said that I'm going to marry a powerful bender. I can't wait to grow up and find out who it is."

I roll my eyes. "Love is overrated. I don't see the point in falling head over heels for some guy. Men just want to have power over their women, and I don't do submissive."

Katara elbows me playfully. "Then maybe you just need to meet the right guy. I'm sure that Aunt Wu will tell you about your love life if you just ask her."

"I don't want to know about my love life. In fact, hearing any of my future makes me a little nervous." And just at that moment Aunt Wu comes back in with Aang.

She catches sight of me. "You seem like a very interesting young lady. Perhaps your friends should look around the village while I read your fortune."

I glance at Katara, but she just pushes me towards Aunt Wu. "Fine, I'll go with you." It makes me feel a little sick to know that she's going to try looking into my future, no matter how phony or not she may be.

Once the others are gone, she brings me to a special room with a fire and a plate of bones. "First, I am going to read your palms, and then I will read the bones."

She takes my left hand into her hands and looks carefully at my palm. "Your hands are calloused and rough, signs of a hard life with many struggles. But your struggles are not over. I see a long life, but cut short, or perhaps not, the line splits and is undecided. Whether you live long or die young will be up to you." Then she releases my hand and points to the bones. "Please, pick one, and then toss it into the fire."

I reach for the bones, and I see a particularly curved one. I hold it in my hand, conflicted, and then I decide. Instead of throwing it into the fire, I light my own hand on fire. Golden flames fill my hand and surround the bone, cracking it in several places. Once the cracking stops, I put out the fire in my hand, the bone splits in half, and I give the bone to Aunt Wu.

Her eyes, which had been wide when she saw me firebend, are now huge. "This is astounding. Your future is tangled and woven through so many others. I see that you were born to royalty, and yet, not born in a palace. You have a birthright that will one day be restored, but you will give it up for the peace of a nation, only to be given an even greater status. Battles rage around you, some for the future, and some for the past. You will help to restore a nation, and you will see the world over once again." The she turns over the bone and gasps. "And there is romance in your future, intense, and passionate, like the fire that burns within you. It will be a love that unifies a kingdom, and brings light and peace to those around you. You will have a child, upon whose shoulders a great burden and honor will be placed."

I blink, and then I sigh. "I don't plan on having children. I don't want them to end up like me."

But she shakes her head. "If you survive the coming months, your future will be bright and happy. Your child will rule a nation, and you will live out your days with the ones you love." Then she grows serious. "But, there is a doom on you. People will search for you, your distinctive appearance, which ties you to your family, will be your undoing. You must take care to disguise yourself from your enemies, or they will surely find you."

Finally, she stops speaking, and I incline my head to her. "Thank you for your wisdom and advice." Then I get up and leave the room, chilled to the bone by her knowledge of forgotten secrets, and her very specific advice, and not so specific predictions.

Once away from the fortune teller's house, I tug on my hair and bite my lip. "She has a good point though. My appearance gives me away."

I walk through the town, mulling over my choice to myself. I find a nice place to sit and contemplate my predicament. But since wasting time is pointless, I go for a walk outside the village to look for the right plants I'll need.

Finally, after an hour of walking around in the forest, I find them, henna and inkroot. With this, I should be able to dye my hair a slightly darker shade. And once we're done in this village, I'll have Katara help me. She should be able to do what I need her to.

When I finally get back in the village, the first thing I hear is Sokka's voice. "Aunt Wu was wrong!"

I walk over to the square and see Aang leap up onto the roof. "Please listen to us! You are all in danger! And we have to get out of here! You can't rely on Aunt Wu's prediction! You have to take fate into your own hands."

Sokka points to the smoking volcano. "Look! Can your fortune-telling explain that?"

No one listens to them, and I know the signs of a pending eruption as well as the next firebender. So I walk up to them. "So, what's the plan? Are we going to evacuate the town? Or are we going to find a way to stop the volcano?"

Aang stares at me. "Can you stop a volcano? You're a firebender after all."

I sigh irritably. "I can't do it alone. I know how to siphon off heat, but it takes a powerful master to calm a volcano."

Aang screws his face up in concentration, and then he relaxes. "I've got an idea. Aunt Wu's prediction caused this, so, it's going to become our solution."

So while I get Appa ready, Aang sneaks in and steals Aunt Wu's cloud reading book. Once the deed is done, I let Aang take over, and he and Katara go up into the sky to make the symbol for volcanic doom out of the clouds. Sokka brings Aunt Wu out to read the skull in the clouds, which convinces the townspeople to listen, just in time for Aang and Katara to reappear in town.

"We can still save the village if we act fast!" Aang points to Sokka. "Sokka has a plan!"

And so, Sokka takes over. "Lava is going to flow downhill to this spot. If we can dig a deep enough trench, we can channel the lava away from the village and into the river."

"If any of you are earthbenders, come with me!" Aang takes charge of the benders who will be helping to make the trench. Then he turns to me. "Ciara, take Appa and do whatever you can to slow that volcano down!"

The old man looks at me, confused. "What do you plan to do against a volcano?"

I look up at the volcano. "Suck the heat out of the lava and shoot it into the sky. It's the best use for a firebender in this situation. I'm going to buy you all as much time as I can." I jump onto Appa's saddle. "Yip yip! Let's go Appa!"

Appa takes off into the sky and heads straight for the volcano. It's a dangerous job, but no one can do it like I can. As Appa circles the volcano, I point my left hand at the volcano, and my right hand away. I breathe in, and then out, and I suck the heat in with my left hand, before expelling it into the sky with my right. I'm channeling the heat through my body and cooling some of the lava, turning it into solid rock.

About four hours later, the volcano becomes too violent, and I'm forced to bring Appa back down before he gets hit by flying lava. I just hope that I've bought them enough time to dig the trench. And I watch as the lava starts rolling downhill, right towards the trench.

The trench fills up quickly, so I go right back to sucking the heat out of the lava. But one rock makes the lava splash up violently, and Aang uses his airbending to cool the splash quickly, turning it into a wall of rock that helps to protect the village from any further lava flows.

The next day, Aang admits to borrowing Aunt Wu's book. And of course, seeing as Aunt Wu's predictions were still all right, Sokka takes it pretty bitterly. And now that this village is safe, it's time for us to move on, and I have a favor to ask of Katara.

When we make camp for the night, I crush up the henna and some inkroot, and the paste that it makes is a dark reddish brown. I mix the dye with lavender oil that I got a while back, and it turns into a smooth cream. It should last for a couple of months, but once the dye wears off, I'll have to apply some more. Now all I have to do is fix my hair.

I shake Katara awake. "Hey, I need you to help me."

She rubs her eyes and groans. "It's the middle of the night. What do you need now?"

"I need you to cut off my hair."

Her eyes go wide and she stares at me like I'm crazy. "Wait, what? Why?"

I drag her out of her sleeping bag and over to the nearby river. "Because now that Zhao knows what I look like, there's no way that I can just go around looking the same way. He'll have wanted posters of me up everywhere. I can't hide the color of my fire, but I can change my appearance so that people don't recognize me on sight. So, I want you to cut my hair before I dye it." I hand her a knife and sit down in front of her. "Hurry, I need to put the dye in it soon."

"But Ciara…"

I clench my fist and close my eyes. "Just do it! I can't do it on my own."

"Alright…"

She finally does as I ask, and she pulls on my hair a little. Then tension releases as the knife slices through my hair. I feel her drop it behind me, except for a little that slips down my shoulder and into my lap. I twitch a little, and I try to stay still as the tension on my hair increases, then releases periodically, every time she cuts another piece.

Five minutes later, she finishes, and I reach up and touch my now short hair. "Thanks for your help. Now, I have to put in the dye."

Katara pats my shoulder, and I hear her footsteps as they fade into the distance. I smear the cream into my hair and leave it there. Then I pick my severed hair from the ground and clench it in my fist. It burns to ashes and scatters in the breeze.

Half an hour later, I dunk my head in the river and wash out all of the henna, inkroot and lavender oil. And when I lift my head back out of the water and look at my reflection, I see a face very different to the one I've always known. My hair is short and choppy, hanging just below my chin, and it's now dark brown, unlike the long golden brown hair that I'm so used to.

"Well, it looks like it's done. My disguise should be adequate now." I head back to the campsite after drying myself off. And I sleep all wrapped up in my sleeping bag up in Appa's saddle. It's best that if I sleep in, that I be ready to go immediately, because knowing our little group, we could run into trouble as soon as the sun rises.

When the boys wake up, they're not very quiet. So I groan and get out of my sleeping bag. "Would you two keep it down? I was trying to sleep."

The two of them look at me and Sokka points at me. "Who are you?"

I roll my eyes. "Who do you think I am? I only cut my hair and dyed it, don't freak out."

Aang's eyes go wide. "Wow, you look really different."

"That's the point. Zhao knows what I look like, so it's better that I not look the same. Simple logic. Now, I can walk around without worrying about being seen. People who know my story won't be able to recognize me on sight anymore. So now, I'm safer. Anyway, let's go, we have some flying to do if we're not going to sleep any longer." I roll up my sleeping bag and toss it into the saddle. "Come on, we still have a long way to go to the North Pole."


	14. Bato of the Water Tribe

We continue on our journey towards the North Pole, making regular stops along the way for supplies and to camp. Sokka and Aang take a little time to get used to my new look, despite the numerous compliments that Aang gives me to reassure me that I don't look weird. But they're soon distracted from our journey, when Aang finds something interesting sitting on the ground. "Hey, look! A sword made out of a whale's tooth."

"Let me see that." Sokka grabs the weapon, looking at it carefully. "This is a Water Tribe weapon. See if you can find anything else."

Aang looks at me, shrugs, then starts to rummage around in the bushes for something, anything. Katara walks into the clearing, confused. "Did someone lose something?"

Aang pokes his head happily out of the bushes. "No, we found something!"

Sokka finds a spearhead on the ground. "It's burned. There was a battle!" And he woprks around the scene, looking for clues, and he finds them on the trees. "Water Tribe warriors ambushed a group of firebenders. The firebenders fought back, but the warriors drove them down this hill."

Sokka leads us down the hill, following the clues. But Aang wants to know more. "So, then what happened?"

"I don't know." Sokka sighs with disappointment. "The trail ends here."

But Katara spots something else. "Wait, look!"

"It's one of our boats!" Sokka and Katara start running towards it. "Is this dad's boat?"

Sokka examines the boat as we approach it. "No, but it's from his fleet. Dad was here." That means that there is, or was, a member of their tribe nearby. So, in the hopes of finding more clues, we set up our next camp right next to the boat.

In the middle of the night, a figure approaches out camp, and Sokka goes on the defensive. "Who's there?"

The stranger approaches. "Sokka?"

Sokka is stunned. "Bato?"

Aang and I are confused, of course, but Sokka and Katara run into the newcomer's arms like they know him. And judging by his clothes, they do. Probably a friend of their father's or maybe a relative, judging by the hug-fest they have going on. I keep my distance, since it would be wrong of me to intrude on their reunion. Aang, however, goes over to introduce himself.

Bato invites us along to an abbey, where he's been staying to recuperate from his injuries. The nuns welcome us happily and set us up with a place to stay. Sokka and Katara go into Bato's room to listen to stories and stuff, but I just bunk back down and go back to sleep. All I hear before I fall asleep is that Katara and Sokka might get the chance to see their father, since Bato is expecting a message and a map.

My sleep isn't peaceful, and I find myself having a vivid nightmare. It replays the events of my past, showing me the day of the massacre, covering my hands in blood. It terrifies me awake, and I shiver and shake in a corner, snuggled against Appa.

In the morning, Bato tells us about how his father built his boat, and how it was the boat that he went ice-dodging in, a rite of passage for young Water Tribe members. But instead of explaining it, Bato decides that we're going to find out firsthand what ice dodging is.

We all get in the boat, but I decide to be a spectator, since I know absolutely nothing about boats. Katara takes the main sail, Sokka has steering, and Aang is on the jib. I sit down at the bow with Bato, and I look over the prow at the water and sharp rocks ahead of us. "Well, that looks dangerous." I grin. "This should be fun."

Almost immediately Sokka starts barking orders. "Aang, ease up on the jib, Katara, steady. Aang, less sail. Katara, give him room." And with the boat pointed the right way, we start dodging between the spires of rock that jut up from the water.

We starts gaining speed. "Aang, helm to lee, helm to lee."

"What does that even mean?" Aang just pulls hard on the rope and somehow he did what he was supposed to.

"Great Job!"

Now, Katara is worried about the huge wall of rocks in front of us. "There's no way through!"

Bato now looks concerned. "Sokka, you've already proven yourself, maybe we should-"

But Sokka isn't going to take no for an answer. "Aang, I'm gonna need air in that sail. Katara, I want you to bend as much water as you can between us and those rocks." And a few seconds later, they get the timing. "Now!"

Katara makes the water rise and Aang propels the boat higher on the waves. We approach the rocks at high speed, and because of the added height of the water, we sail right over them without even scratching the boat.

When all is said and done, Sokka, Katara and Aang receive the marks that shows that they have completed their ice dodging. "The spirits of the water bear witness to these marks. For Sokka, the mark of the Wise. The same mark your father earned. For Katara, the mark of the brave. Your courage inspires us. And for Aang, the mark of the trusted. You are now an honorary member of the Water Tribe."

"I can't." Aang wipes away the mark.

"Of course you can!" Katara smiles encouragingly, unsure as to why Aang would turn down the honor.

Aang backs away guiltily. "No, you can't trust me."

Katara's face falls. "Aang, what are you talking about?"

Aang pulls out a piece of paper from his clothes. "A messenger gave this to me for Bato." Katara takes the paper, and Aang panics. "You have to understand. I was afraid that you would-"

Sokka sees the paper and it all goes to hell. "This is a map to our father! You had it this whole time? How could you? Well, you can go to the North Pole on your own. I'm going to find Dad." Sokka completely blows up at him, and our group splits in two, with Katara and Sokka determined to go find their father, and me wanting to continue on to the North Pole with Aang.

After saying our goodbyes, Aang and I leave the abbey on Appa. Aang seems very sad, so I give him a hug. "Aang, don't worry, we'll see them again."

"Yeah, I know." Aang plays with the reins on Appa's horns, not wanting to leave the beach quite so soon.

But trouble has come to find us, one of the nuns runs up to us. "Avatar! You must leave! A group of people came to the abbey looking for you."

Aang looks surprised. "Who?"

"A fierce looking woman with a horrible monster, and a young man with a scar. The beast was using the scent of a necklace to follow you."

Aang looks at me, horrified. So I nod at him. "Zuko is tracking us using Katara's necklace. Let's go."

So we fly off in a hurry, searching for Katara, and making our way over the forest and towards Katara and Sokka. Aang gets on his glider, so I ride on Appa's head and hold the reins. We sail towards the abbey and we fly around until they finally come to us.

While Aang deals with the hunter and Zuko, I ride on Appa's head and drive him at the beast, the Shirshu, knocking it right into a wall. Of course, I have my hood up, since it would be bad if Zuko saw me right now.

Aang and Zuko trade blows, until a small explosion throws them in opposite directions. But my problem involves holding on to Appa while that hunter and her pet try to fight him. They get him with a paralytic toxin, and nearly hit me with it as well. So I jump off of Appa and look around for a way to end this fight before it gets much worse.

Finally, I get a brilliant idea. I quickly run to the mother superior. "Hey, that thing uses its nose to see, right? You've got perfume here, let's use it!"

Sokka and Katara run over as well. "Ciara, the perfume!"

I nod, reassured by Sokka thinking up the exact same plan. "I know! Katara, can you do this?" She smiles and raises her arms. When the nuns spill over the perfume, Katara waterbends it through the air and covers the beast in it, causing it to go completely wild, thrashing and shooting that dangerous tongue all over. And it takes down both Zuko and the bounty hunter.

Of course, we don't stick around to find out how long the paralytic toxin lasts, and we're out of there as quickly as possible. This crazy little adventure doesn't end badly though, because Katara and Sokka decide that they're going to stick around and come along with us to the North Pole. They're willing to wait to see their father. Which means that our little family isn't going to be breaking up so soon.

And Katara is more than happy to get her necklace back, after Aang swiped it from Zuko during their little duel that almost drowned the abbey.

I snicker quietly when Katara gives Aang a sweet little kiss on the cheek. _Ah…kids…so cute…_


	15. The Deserter

We stop in a village during festival season. The only problem is that on one of the noticeboards, there are a couple of wanted posters. One is of Aang. And the other is of me. I cringe, seeing mine. "Well, it sure didn't take Zhao long to get my face up on noticeboards. It says that I'm a traitor to the Fire Nation, and that I'm exceptionally dangerous. Well, he got one part right, I'm definitely dangerous. I guess it really was a good idea to dye my hair."

Aang, on the other hand, is more excited about going to the festival and studying firebenders, instead of being worried over having a wanted poster. So, Katara suggests disguises. And we do just that, disguising ourselves so that we can sneak into the town without being seen. Though frankly, Aang's really sucks. At least mine involves covering the colors of my clothes.

We enter the town, and conveniently, everyone is wearing masks, and we acquire four of them quite easily. Sokka burns his tongue with some fire flakes, though you would think that the name would have tipped him off to how hot they are. I pop a few in my mouth, since he can't eat any more, and I'm perfectly fine.

And while walking through the town, we get to see a very disturbing puppet show about the Fire Lord, it send sshivers down my spine, but the crowd seems to love it. All in a normal day at a Fire Nation festival. Or so I think, since I've never actually been to one before.

Though what really draws our attention is a firebending demonstration. Since I've refused to teach Aang, he's determined to find someone else to learn from.

The firebender performer continues his show with a flourish. "Thank you! For my next trick, I'll need a volunteer from the audience!"

Aang waves his hand, trying to get picked. "Oh! Oh! Me! Me!"

Sokka pulls on Aang's arm. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I want to get a closer look." Aang is so innocent, not realizing the danger he's in here.

Katara speaks in a hushed voice. "It's better that we don't attract any attention to ourselves."

"How about you little lady." The performer points to Katara, who backs away nervously. "Awww, she's shy. Let's give her some encouragement, folks!"

Katara get's pushed onto the stage and sat down on a chair while Aang fumes jealously. "This next trick is called Taming the Dragon." The performer ties Katara to the chair and continues his spectacle. "You will be my captured princess!" He makes a dragon appear in the air with his fire, creating quite a lavish display. "Don't worry young maiden! I will tame this fiery beast!" He makes a rope of fire, and loops it around the dragon's neck. "It's too strong! I can't hold it!"

"We gotta help her!" Aang rushes to the stage, leaving Sokka and me in the audience. Aang gets up on the stage as the fiery rope strains.

The performer grins. "The rope, it's breaking!" And the dragon breaks free from the rope, and surges towards Katara.

Aang, thinking that Katara is really in danger, uses his airbending to blow the dragon away, showering the crowd in confetti. I slam my palm to my face, because despite being careful, we've gone and gotten ourselves found out. And as soon as the crowd figures out that Aang is the Avatar, we have to run.

A stranger beckons to us. "Follow me! I can get you out of here!" And he aids in our escape, leading us down alleys while Aang calls Appa. Our ally seems well versed in explosives, so he provides good distractions while we run and get on Appa. And to cover our dramatic escape, he sets off a whole pile of fireworks.

It turns out that our rescuer, Chey, is a former Fire Nation soldier, and the second deserter of the army. And he serves Jeung-Jeung, a famous traitor to the Fire Nation, the first person to desert the Fire Nation army. He's a firebending genius, a master. And Aang wants to meet him and convince him to train him.

Sokka is convinced that this is a bad idea and wants to leave again for the North Pole in the morning, and frankly, I agree, since I still don't think Aang is ready to learn firebending. But Aang wants to stay and ask Jeung-Jeung to train him to be a firebender. But before we have the chance to actually decide anything, we get ambushed by a bunch of grass-wearing warriors with sharp spears.

They escort us through the forest, obviously under the orders of Jeung-Jeung, and obviously displeased with us. And only Chey is allowed to go see Jeung-Jeung. Aang is made to stay with the rest of us. So all we can do is sit and wait to find out what's going on. And I have a feeling that this isn't going to be good.

Later, Chey returns with news. Aang wants to hear good news. "You're back! Can I see Jeung-Jeung now?"

Chey shakes his head. "He won't see you. He's very angry that I brought you here. He wants you to leave immediately."

"Finally! Let's hit the road." Sokka, of course, is eager to get moving. But Aang isn't. "Why won't he see me?"

"He says you're not ready. Says you haven't mastered waterbending and earthbending yet."

"Wait, how does he know that?" Now Aang is confused.

"He saw the way you walked into camp, he can tell."

But Aang is not going to give up. "I'm going in anyway."

Aang is gone for a while. But when he comes back, he looks happy. "Jeung-Jeung is going to teach me firebending!"

I raise an eyebrow. "Are you sure that you're up for it? Fire isn't exactly the easiest element to control. One mistake, and someone could end up dead."

"That's why I want him to teach me, so I can learn to control it!" Aang looks so happy, so eager. But I know, that soon, he's going to learn the hard way that fire is not nearly as simple as he seems to think.

In the morning, Aang starts training. And of course, he starts with concentration training, and breathing exercises. But he's impatient, and he wants to make fire as soon as possible. That's all he's been thinking about. And more than once, he confronts Jeung-Jeung about it.

One afternoon, while I'm practicing a little firebending trick that involves making a pair of little flame dragons dance around in my palm, Jeung-Jeung approaches me and sits down. I glance at him, then look back at my palm, clench my fist, and make the dragons disappear. "Is Aang doing well in his training?

Jeung-Jeung sighs. "He is impatient and undisciplined. He seeks only to learn as quickly as possible, with no regard for the danger to himself or others."

I nod sadly. "That's one of the reasons that I haven't tried to teach him myself. He's just not ready for a power like this. He has no idea of the kind of destruction it can cause."

"You know what it is like to be burdened with such a gift. You, more than others, princess."

I look at him sharply. "You know?"

He nods. "I knew your father, Raikon, and your grandfather as well. They were talented firebenders, and honorable men. I grieved their deaths, as I'm sure you did as well."

"Yes, I miss them." I look off into the trees over the river. "I'm alone. But now, I have friends, and maybe, a new family. And my powers are strong enough to protect them, though I'm afraid of using them, because I'll be recognized by my enemies."

"Are you not afraid of the destruction that you could cause?"

I shake my head. "I am not afraid, I am wary. Being cautious is good, but being afraid of your own power will lead you to being unable to wield it when you need it, and unable to control it when you do wield it. Caution and fear do not hold the same place. One is necessary, the other is a hindrance. At least, in the middle of a battle where a second of hesitation could cost you your life."

"I see that you have been in more than your fair share of battles, if that is how you see fear and caution." He nods, as though giving his approval. "You have good self-discipline, and you do not allow your emotions to run away with you. You have no greedy ambition, and I see no jealousy in your eyes, only a deep sadness and loneliness."

I nod and sigh. "I do what I must to survive. And now, I do what I must to protect my friends. I hide my firebending as much as possible, using it only as a last resort in battle. At least, I used to. Now, I'm using it more, and it feels right. I'm finding a good balance between hiding it and using it. And all the while, I maintain my harmony with it. I do not control it, and it does not control me. I guide it, I live in concert with it, and I become it. That is why I don't lose control of my power, because it isn't my power alone, and I exercise caution because of that."

"Good. You have the mind of a master, and if your lineage is anything to judge by, then you have the abilities of a master as well." He gets to his feet and bows respectfully. "Good day, princess."

A shriek echoes through the woods, and it sounds like Katara. Then I hear Sokka start yelling, and Aang's voice is panicked. Jeung-Jeung hurries off towards the voices, so I stay put. The last thing I want to do is get involved in a fight between Aang and Sokka over whatever Aang said to Katara this time.

Ten minutes later, Katara comes running over to me. "Ciara! We need to go! Now! It's Zhao! Aang and Jeung0Jeung are fighting him!"

"Zhao? He's here?" I jump to my feet and run with her to Appa. Aang has gone off to help Jeung-Jeung, that makes sense, he never could leave someone alone if he thought they were in trouble. Though I doubt that the old man actually needs any help against Zhao, he seems far too clever to be taken down by a man like that. And Aang, knowing him, he's going to give Zhao a serious run for his money if they fight one on one. That kid is talented in all the strangest ways.

And when we get Appa over to where Aang has dealt with Zhao, I get to see exactly what that sly little monkey has done. He went and got Zhao to set fire to his own ships. I grin at Aang as he jumps into the saddle. "Now that's what happens when a firebender has no self-control. They burn everything around them, until they don't have a ride home anymore."

"Yeah. I think I learned the lesson that you and Jeung-Jeung were trying to teach me." He looks a little sad now. "So I think that I'll leave the firebending to you. You seem to understand it better than I do, so it's safer if you do all the firebending from now on."

I raise an eyebrow; then I relax my face and smile. "Alright. Besides, we don't need an extra flame thrower. Not yet at least. Considering that our enemies are pretty much all Fire Nation, water is more effective than fire. So getting to the North Pole so that you and Katara can learn more waterbending is the best thing to do now."

"Okay, okay, this is all very touching, but can we get back to heading north?" Sokka taps his foot impatiently. "We've wasted too much time here already."

I smirk. "And that attitude is why you would make a terrible firebender, Sokka."

He rolls his eyes and goes back to polishing his boomerang. I smirk at him as we take off into the sky. _This is going to be a fun trip..._

Ciara, one. Sokka, zero.


	16. The Northern Air Temple

Sokka grumbles as we fly off to the north. And we cover quite a bit of distance, heading right for the tip of the Earth Kingdom, and right into the territory surrounding the Northern Air Temple. And that's where we run into an old man who claims that he saw people at the air temple, people who could fly through the air, and people that sound suspiciously like airbenders. Of course, since he's trying to get coin for telling stories, I question the authenticity of the account.

So, that gets us flying through the clouds towards the Northern Air Temple. And Aang is psyched the whole way there. "Hey! We're almost at the Northern Air Temple. This is where they had the championships for Sky Bison polo."

"Do you think we'll really find airbenders?" Katara is sounding just a little too hopeful.

Sokka shares my doubts. "You want me to be like you, or totally honest?"

"Are you saying I'm a liar?"

"I'm saying you're an optimist. Same thing really." Sokka shrugs and goes back to his whittling.

Aang gets excited. "Hey guys, look at this!" And surprisingly, when we come into view, we see dark specs flying around the air temple.

Katara is wide eyed and amazed. "They really are airbenders!"

But as we get closer, Aang's face falls. "No, they're not."

"What do you mean they're not? Those guys are flying!" Sokka seems to have thrown all of his earlier skepticism out the window.

Aang grows cold and bitter. "Gliding, maybe, but not flying. You can tell by the way they move, they're not airbending. Those people have no spirit."

But when one of them flies right over us, laughing his head off, Aang takes to the air to prove that he's the one real airbender here. As for the rest of us, we get Appa to land so that we don't end up knocked out of the sky while Aang flies around.

Of course, Aang just has to go and show off. So his opponent in the sky makes a little art project. It's Aang's face, looking very annoyed. And when they land, we get to meet the very energetic and enthusiastic kid, who points at Aang with a smile. "Hey, you're a real airbender. You must be the Avatar! That's amazing! I've heard stories about you!"

Aang suddenly gets rather embarrassed. "Thanks."

"Wow! This glider chair is incredible!" Sokka starts examining the chair to figure out how it works.

The kid grins. "You think this is good, wait until you see the other stuff my dad designed." And he wheels off towards the inside, to take us to meet his father, an inventor of sorts.

But when we get inside, and I see all of the pipes and wheels and gears in the place, I immediately feel disgust rising in my stomach when I see that the artwork has been destroyed. "Hey, Aang, I think I'm going to go back outside. This place is a bit…well…not to my taste. I'll be exploring if you need me." And I walk right out without another glance at the horrendous machinery.

I climb the temple steps until I find the highest point I can reach. Being up high, feeling the wind around me, it feels like I'm flying. Minus the highly flammable gliders, of course. There's a reason that I don't want to go back down and let Teo stick me in a glider. Mostly, it involves a fear of burning the glider to ash in the air and falling to my death. I would rather not die by smashing myself on the ground.

What grabs my attention is when I catch sight of a firebender approaching the temple. So when I see Aang and the others having a meeting, I soar down, using fire as a means to slow my descent, as well as steer my gliding.

I drop down on the bridge and approach the group. "I assume that this meeting has something to do with the firebender I saw earlier."

Aang nods. "He came here for weapons that Teo's father has been building. I sent him away empty-handed."

"This is bad, very bad." Sokka is freaking out, and offering no helpful solutions. And Katara isn't either. "Aang, what are we going to do? How can we possibly keep them all away?"

Aang grins. "I'll tell you how. We have something they don't." He points to the sky. "Airpower. We control the sky. That's something the Fire Nation can't do. We can win."

"I want to help." Teo's father suddenly appears on the bridge, here to offer his assistance. And it really is in Aang's heart to forgive and forget, because he smiles. "Good, we'll need it."

So we all head inside and hold one big meeting, where Teo's dad tells us some good news. "We finally got the war balloon working, thanks to Sokka. This boy's a genius."

"Thank you, you're a genius."

"Thank you!"

Now Sokka takes over. "See, the problem with the old war balloon was you could get it airborne, but once you did, it just kept going. You could put a hole in the top, but then all the hot air would escape. So the question became, how do you keep a lid on hot air?"

"Ugh, if only we knew." Katara rolls her eyes, then she, Aang and Teo burst out laughing.

But Sokka is on a roll. "A lid is actually the answer, if you control the hot air, you control the war balloon."

Katara actually looks impressed for once. "Huh, that's actually pretty smart."

But Sokka still isn't done. "Of course, if our resident firebender is up for it, controlling the war balloon would be even easier with that kind of precise help."

I roll my eyes. "I'll think about it."

"Alright, now we have four kinds of bombs. Smoke, slime, fire and…" Sokka counts them off on his fingers, and Teo's dad gets enthusiastic about the last kind of bomb. "Stink! Never underestimate the power of stink!"

So, with all of that laid out, we all get to our battle stations, and I accompany Sokka to the war balloon. But when I see it, I shake my head. "No way, I'm not getting in that metal death trap. Plus, it can only fit two people."

Sokka looks a little disappointed. "Alright, I was expecting you to say that, actually. In that case, can you just, I don't know, rain firebombs down on the army?"

I roll my eyes. "Maybe. But I think that I'll be doing a lot of defense instead. You know, blocking fireballs instead of making them."

"Alright, good luck."

I run off to the edge of the temple, ready on the cliffs for whatever is coming this way. And when I see it, it scares me a little. Metal contraptions that are climbing the cliffs using chains. Well, we can't have that, so I move to the first one, and I shoot fireballs at it until I send the grappling chain sliding over the edge, along with the first war tank.

But while I was getting one down, the others have made is up the cliffs, so Aang picks me up and helps me retreat to the outer wall of the temple, giving me a good vantage point for raining down fire on the invaders. "Give them hell!" He spirals off into the sky and I nod to him, focusing on the enemy.

Aang tries upending them, but that fails miserably. So Katara goes down to join the fray, and she must know something that the rest of us don't because she looks confident. And her waterbending works better than Aang's airbending, my firebending, or any of the various bombs that we've thrown at them.

But there are too many tanks for Katara to handle, and we retreat further. But the war balloon takes to the skies, and they rain slime bombs on the Fire Nation troops. Then, Sokka gets some crazy plan, and he drops their fuel supply down a crevice. And that makes the bottom floors of the temple start exploding.

"Look!" Aang points to the invading army. "They're retreating!" And a general celebratory outcry begins. Well, before the war balloon crashes, and Aang has to go save Sokka and Teo's dad.

After the battle, it's a big, happy reunion, and Aang approves of the refugees living in the temple and making it their home. It's nice to see that Aang can accept change, no matter how drastic or artwork destroying it is. And now, we have allies in the sky, which should prove to be quite good in the future.


	17. The Waterbending Master

After another few straight days of flying, we're finally at the North Pole. It's amazing to think that we've traveled across the world so quickly, we've only been traveling for a couple of months. The only problem, I've never been to this part of the world, so I have no idea where the city is. Meaning that unlike in the Earth Kingdom, I will be absolutely no help in navigating.

Appa is getting tired, and it's starting to look like we'll never find them. And that has tempers running high between Aang and Sokka. And Appa finally gets so tired that he lands in the ocean and starts swimming. That is, until we're ambushed by waterbenders who freeze us in place with spikes of ice. And upon discovering that the Avatar has come looking for a teacher, they escort us the rest of the way to the huge icy gate that protects the Northern Water Tribe.

They open the way for us, and the sheer number of waterbenders astounds us. And the city itself is beautiful, like a piece of art. People come out of their homes to see us pass, giving Aang plenty of attention. We arrive at the palace, and receive a very warm welcome, despite the cold climate.

The chief has us all sit at his table for the feast, and there are many people, who I assume are very important, present. "Tonight, we celebrate the arrival of our brother and sister from the southern tribe. And they have brought with them, someone very special. Someone, who many of us believed disappeared from the world, until now." He gestures to Aang. "The Avatar." Then, he smiles even brighter. "We also celebrate, my daughter's sixteenth birthday. Princess Yue, is now of marrying age."

The pretty girl with white hair smiles. "Thank you Father." Then she turns to the crowd. "May the Great Ocean and Moon spirits watch over us during these troubled times."

"Now, Master Pakku and his students will perform!" And they treat us to quite an interesting demonstration of waterbending. And Sokka tries, very badly, to flirt with the princess. I just eat my food and try not to draw any attention to myself.

After the feast, I wait until most of the guests have left before I approach the Tribe's chief. He raises an eyebrow at me, a pleasant expression on his face. "Ah, you're one of the Avatar's companions. Is there something you need?"

I shake my head. "I just thought that you should know who you have taken into your halls. It seems polite to inform you that I am a firebender who has been traveling with Aang since the South Pole. Everyone seems to hate firebenders, so I thought that I should tell you that I don't mean you or your people any harm."

The chief looks at me carefully. "I believe you. For you to be so upfront about this with me, without causing panic to the people shows wisdom and restraint. And for you to be traveling with the Avatar, he probably knows what you can do. And if he trusts you, then that is fine with me."

I suddenly feel very relieved, and I smile. "Thank you for your understanding. I will do my utmost to be no trouble while here. Though I cannot promise anything because especially with Aang around, trouble seems to come looking for me."

"I don't doubt it, Princess of the Eastern Isles."

I spin around, flames in hand, and I see the one who addressed me with that title. "Who are you? What do you want with me?"

The figure steps into the light, and I see who it is. The chief seems confused. "Master Pakku, you know this girl?"

The old man regards me carefully. "No, but a friend of mine in the Earth Kingdom sent me word of her. He said that she was traveling with the Avatar, and that she is from the exiled royal family of the Fire Nation, the family that ruled the eastern islands of the archipelago." Then he looks at the fire in my hand before I quickly put it out. "And the color of her flame proves it; the golden flames were passed down to all who were born in their line. She is of royal blood, and is not at all allied with the Fire Nation's forces." Then he regards me carefully. "But she does seem to be a bit jumpy."

I blink, and then incline my head. "I'm sorry. The last person to address me by that title was trying to torture information out of me, so forgive me for being hasty."

"Of course." Then, just before he leaves, Pakku glances at me. "Try not to melt anything by accident, young princess."

I watch him as he leaves. "Well, that pretty much rubbed it in my face that I'm an exile. As if I didn't know exactly what I am. It's the reason that I lost my family, and now, I have to run and hide like a coward."

The chief pats me on the shoulder. "Traveling with the Avatar is a noble thing. Surely, it would be easier to hide if you were alone, but you've given up much to help him get here. That is not cowardice."

I nod and sigh. "I know...I'm safer with them than I am alone, even if we do attract a lot more trouble together. Besides, Katara is the waterbender; Aang is an airbender, so they might as well have a firebender along for this crazy adventure."

I finish my greetings to the chief, before heading back and going to bed. I'm in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar customs, and it's cold and wet, and not at all the way I like it. The only comfort I have is that I'm here with friends.

I spend the next day touring around the city with a special guide that the chief assigned to me. It's probably so that I don't get lost, or fall in the water and drown, which is a real possibility, despite my swimming skills.

Later in the evening, it looks to me like I'm the only one who had a good day. Sokka comes in, looking upset. "So how did warrior training go?" Aang looks at him inquisitively. But Sokka just kicks his bag for no apparent reason. "Ugh!" then he falls face first into it. Aang raises an eyebrow. "That bad?"

"No! It's Princess Yue. I don't get it. One minute, she wants to go out with me, and the next, she's telling me to get lost." Once that's out of his system, he changes the subject. "So how's waterbending training?"

Aang lies down and Katara flops onto her sleeping bag. "Master Poophead won't teach her because she's a girl." Aang fumes about it.

Sokka looks confused. "Why don't you just teach her Aang?"

And that gets Katara excited. "Why didn't I think of that? At night, you can teach me whatever moves you learned from Master Pakku. That way, you have someone to practice with, and I get to learn waterbending. Everyone's happy."

Sokka plunges his face back into his bag. "I'm not happy."

Katara rolls her eyes. "But you're never happy. Come on Aang." And the two budding waterbenders leave the room without any more discussion on the matter.

Sokka looks up at me. "So what did you do today?"

"I walked around the city with a guide, looking at the artwork and architecture of the city. This place is very different to the places I've been, it's much more graceful and serene." Then I shiver. "And cold, it's cold here. Without my inner fire, I think that I would freeze to death here. I don't know how you all manage to stand the cold."

Sokka lifts his arms. "With warm clothes, which you seem to hate wearing."

"Well, that's because too many layers make it dangerous to firebend, I could light myself on fire by accident." I snuggle up into my sleeping bag and up against Appa, who has a nice warm belly. "Anyway, I'm going to sleep, wake me when something interesting happens."

What I find when I wake up is that Aang, Katara and Sokka aren't around. So I get up and leave the house, walking around until I see something very interesting. Katara, and that old man, Pakku, are going and having themselves a little duel. And I can already tell that Katara isn't happy.

Despite her lack of actual training, Katara weathers Pakku's assaults, and does very well at returning some attacks of her own, even nearly hitting him with an ice disc that kind of annoys him. Though several times, she nearly gets washed away, until eventually, their clashing causes it to snow.

"Well, I am impressed, you're an excellent waterbender." Pakku's tone is snide and pompous.

Katara glares at the old man angrily. "But you still won't teach me, will you?"

"No." He firmly rejects her, and slides around on a wave of ice, knocking her to the ground and knocking her hair out of its braid. Then he traps her in a cage of ice spikes, and she can barely move. "This fight is over!"

But Katara won't give up. "Come back here, I'm not finished yet!"

"Yes, you are." Pakku walks away from her, only to be stopped when he picks her necklace up out of the ground. "This is my necklace…"

"No it's not! It's mine! Give it back!" Katara continues to struggle against the ice.

But Pakku seems a little lost in his memories. "I made this sixty years ago. For the love of my life…" His face grows sad, and the ice holding Katara back melts and sloshes to the ground. 'For Kanna."

Katara looks shocked. "My Gran-Gran was supposed to marry you?"

Pakku now sounds sad. "I carved this necklace for your grandmother when we got engaged. I thought we would have a long, happy life together. I loved her."

Katara sounds a little sad now too. "But she didn't love you, did she? It was an arranged marriage. Gran-Gran wouldn't let your tribe's stupid customs run her life. That's why she left. It must have taken a lot of courage."

Pakku returns Katara's necklace to her as the princess runs off, and Sokka runs after her. It makes me a little sad, since I don't really have the freedom to fall in love like Sokka, Katara and Aang do. But at least now, Aang and Katara can learn their bending together. It's nice to see them together, considering that they're obviously in love with each other. And with Sokka chasing Yue, that just leaves me to hang out by myself.

As the days go by and the training for Aang and Katara progresses, I notice that all of the other waterbending students have all but given up trying to spar with Katara. She's progressed even faster than Aang, who goofs off a little more than he should.

After Aang pulls a stupid stunt with his waterbending, turning himself into a living snowman. Pakku turns to me, since I've been watching this funny little training session. "Perhaps you would like to step into the bending ring with Katara."

I raise an eyebrow. "I'm not a waterbender, so what good would it do Katara to fight an unarmed opponent?"

And here, he smirks. "I never said that you had to use waterbending."

That surprises me, and I lower my voice. "You know that my skills are something that I hide. If I actually spar with her, then I'll have half of your tribe trying to kill me."

"They will not attack you, I will vouch for you. Now, is that enough to convince you?" He looks at me quizzically, waiting for my answer.

I glance at Katara, who looks at me confidently. Then I grin. "Alright then, if she really needs a sparring partner."

I drop down from the wall and Katara smiles at me. "You know, I've never actually sparred with you before. I've wanted to, but you never really seemed like you wanted to."

I glance at her, and then proceed to take off my outer layer of clothing. "That's because I would have wiped the floor with you. At least now, you've had some actual training. So now, you might prove to be enough of a challenge that the sweat will be worth it."

"Is that why you're taking off your coat? Because you think you're going to sweat?" Katara looks confused. "This is the North Pole, it's a little cold to sweat here."

I move about fifteen paces from her, then glance at Pakku, who backs away, knowing what's about to happen. Then I look back at Katara. "Well, it's not going to be cold much longer."

I shift into a combat stance, so she does too. But my stance is unique; no bending style actually uses it. The closest is the airbenders, but I'm no airbender. And as soon as Katara moves, I'm already closing the gap.

Her water whips come flying at me, so I twirl through the air, dodging them easily. I hit the ground running and jump from side to side as I move forwards, closing the gap with every second. And a few seconds later, I've closed it completely and forced her into a close quarters fight. She surrounds her arms in water and starts attacking me, so I finally unleash my power. As soon as the first one makes contact with my body, I grab it, flames erupt in my hand, and the water evaporates, allowing me to distract her and strike her in the stomach, throwing her about ten feet.

That kind of makes her mad, so she gets up and starts throwing ice spikes at me. I strike back with one fireball for each of her ice spikes. And each one that I miss, I kick out of the air and vaporise with flames from my feet. Then I jump into the air, boosting my flight speed with fire from my boots, and I come right down on top of her, knocking her to the ground and punching my fist at her face, stopping only an inch from her nose.

I grin at her, lying under me. "And if I were your enemy, you would be dead. Fortunately, I'm your friend, so you're just lying in a puddle of your own bending water." I get up off her and pull her to her feet. "And don't feel bad, I've had more formal training than you, as well as being self-taught. If I didn't have these skills, I would have died a long time ago. So it's only natural that I'm a better fighter than you. Plus, I'm older and bigger than you. When you have my experience, you'll be this good too." That makes her smile eagerly. _She's going to be a good sparring partner…_

Our little duels continue for a couple of weeks. One every day, until eventually, the other students start trying to take me on as well. Pakku encourages them, saying that it would be beneficial for them to learn how to fight a firebender. And since I'm the only one around, and powerful enough to put down waterbenders, I get to be their training target. Needless to say, after spending years fighting for my life, I never lose.


	18. The Seige of the North

One morning, during a practice session, I notice black snow falling from the sky. I hold out my hand and some of it lands in my hand. I rub it between my fingers and glare at it. "Soot, from the coal-burning engines of the Fire Nation Navy's ships. They're here." I look out towards the ocean. "I suppose it was too much to hope that we would be safe here."

Drums start ringing throughout the city, the war drums that are calling everyone to a meeting with the chief. It looks like the first of our many battles is about to happen. And I can only hope that we come out of this alive and free. Because we're no good to anyone if we're dead and captured.

The meeting begins and the chief stands in front of his people. "The day we have feared for so long has arrived. The Fire Nation is on our doorstep. It is with great sadness, I call my family here before me, knowing well that some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe. But they will never vanish from our hearts. Now, as we approach the battle for our existence, I call upon the Great Spirits. Spirit of the Ocean! Spirit of the Moon! Be with us!"

The speech is touching, but now, the true reason for the meeting begins. The chief doesn't look very happy about it. "I'm going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission."

Sokka stands up immediately. "Count me in!" Much to Katara's shock, he has a determined look on his face. He's determined to do this.

"Be warned. Many of you will not return." The chief continues as young men start volunteering. "Come forward to receive my mark, if you accept the task." And one by one, the volunteers go up and have three lines painted on their foreheads.

Despite not being a member of this tribe, I still resolve myself to fight and protect if I must, at Aang's side. So I go with him to the front gate that spans the edge of the Northern Water Tribe. And there, Katara, Aang and I wait, along with many of the warriors who volunteered for this battle.

After a fair bit of waiting, the first shot is fired. A fireball comes hurtling through the air and smashes into the wall, sending us all flying. So, after the first few shots, Aang and I get on Appa, since we're the ones who are best equipped to handle the flying fireballs.

"Aang, try to make them veer off course, don't bother trying to destroy them!" I stand up and look down, where the fireballs are being launched. "Fly to the ships and we can take care of any fireballs we see on the way." I shoot blasts of fire through the air; smashing them into the fireballs and making several of them veer far enough off course that they drop harmlessly into the water.

Once we get close to the lead ship, Aang leaps off with his glider, and I take over flying Appa. Aang makes short work of the catapult, which solves one of our problems. Then he punches a hole through the ship and goes on to disable the other catapults.

Aang gets caught briefly, so I fly Appa over so that the big furry beast can toss Aang's opponent overboard. But then, we realize that we're not alone out here. The waterbenders lift the ship up out of the water with a huge floating chunk of ice. That ship won't be re-joining the battle any time soon.

But when Aang and I get back on Appa and up into the sky, we see the rest of the armada, and it's huge, at least a hundred ships. "You have got to be kidding me." Aang looks at me, as though asking me to tell him that he's having a nightmare.

I shake my head. "Nope, they're real." Then I crack my knuckles. "So what do you say I fly Appa and take care of the flying stuff, and you go down and take out the catapults? That way, we don't kill anyone, and we still get stuff done. And I'll knock fireballs out of the sky while I'm up here."

He nods. "Good plan." Then he grins. "See, this is why you should be the leader. You have good ideas, and you have good judgement too."

I roll my eyes. "Alright, now let's go." I take Aang's place on Appa's head, and we fly out over the army of naval ships, deflecting and redirecting fireballs, and taking out every catapult in sight. But no matter how many ships we take out, there seems to be an infinite amount of them. We spend the entire day taking out ship after ship, until we just can't keep going anymore, and we have to retreat to the city.

We land near Yue and Katara, and Aang is losing hope. "I can't do it. I can't do it."

The girls run up to us and Katara looks worried. "What happened?"

Aang holds his head in his hands and shakes it hard. "We must have taken out over a dozen Fire Navy ships, but there's just too many of them. I can't fight them all."

Yue looks desperate. "But you have to. You're the Avatar."

"He's just a kid, and I'm just a teenager. There is only so much that the two of us can do out there without getting ourselves killed. And getting ourselves killed won't help anyone." I slide down off Appa and nearly lose my balance. I've been in the air doing crazy maneuvers so long that solid ground seems a bit foreign to me. "We took out fifteen ships and seventy catapults. Redirected three hundred fireballs, and outright destroyed sixty of them. There were a hundred sinkers, fifty collisions in mid-air, and another twenty involving icebergs. I think that's more than enough of a blow against them considering that only two of us went out there."

I look out at the ocean and sigh. "Besides, it looks like they're dropping anchor, which means that they'll probably wait until daybreak, when the waterbenders lose the advantage of the moon, and the firebenders gain the advantage of the sun."

I sit down and breathe hard, and Katara wraps a blanket around me. "You did amazing out there Ciara. Now you should rest. The Fire Nation aren't the only ones who lose power when the sun goes down. You do too." So I snuggle against Appa's warm belly and fall asleep.

* * *

What wakes me up at dawn is Yue, who has a frightened look on her face. "Please, Princess Ciara! Aang needs your help!"

My eyes sharpen at her use of that title. "Wait, how do you know who I-"

"Because I was listening to you talk to my father and Master Pakku." She bites her lip with fright. "Please, you need to go to the spirit oasis; it's in the back of the palace, through a small trapdoor in the wall. A firebender invaded and is fighting Katara."

Now that gets my attention. "Alright, you go find a safe place to hide, I'll deal with the firebender." And I leave her behind with Appa as I sprint towards the palace.

I run straight to the back of the palace, find the trap door, and open it. I jump through it and close it behind me, hoping that no one else finds it and interrupts what should be either a very easy, or a very difficult duel.

What I find is a pretty oasis, where the temperature is much higher than it is outside. But in the middle of the oasis, Aang is meditating, his tattoos glowing, showing that his spirit is in the Spirit World. And only a few feet from him, Zuko is standing over an unconscious Katara.

"You rise with the moon. I rise with the sun." And with his victory assured, Zuko heads towards Aang, obviously planning on abducting him while he's helpless.

But I'm not having any of that, and I shoot a small blast of fire right past Zuko's head. "You aren't the only one who rises with the sun!"

He spins around, glaring at me, then his eyes widen. "Wait a minute. That fire…but you-"

I don't let him finish his sentence, as I sprint up to him, then give him a good palm strike to the stomach, then flip sideways and kick him in the chest, sending him careening into the water. I watch as he resurfaces and shakes the water out of his hair. "Leave, now. If you don't, I can't guarantee that you'll leave here in one piece."

He glares at me, and then shoots a blast of fire at me. "I'm here for the Avatar, so stop getting in my way!"

I deflect the fire into the water, away from the oasis. "Why should I? You threaten my friends, try to kidnap Aang, nearly kill Katara in a duel, and you want me to just let you leave with your prize? How stupid are you?"

"What would you know about my prize? What would you know about loyalty and honor?" He really is obsessed, to be so incoherent. "I need the Avatar in order to restore my honor. Only once I have him can I finally go home!" He shoots more fire at me, with unmatched ferocity.

But I just deflect it into the water again. "You need Aang in order to go home and restore your honor? You think that handing him over to your father will get you your honor back? That's a load of crap. Your father can't give you back your honor. And if he kicked you out, then maybe it's not a place that you should go back to!" And now, I take up a fighting stance. "Besides, I know plenty about honor and loyalty. I know what it means to fight with honor, to act with honor, and I know what it means to be loyal, loyal to your friends, and loyal to your ideals."

And now, I go on the attack. I leap at Zuko and aim to punch him in the face, but changing my target to sweeping his legs out from under him when he goes to block my punch. He falls backwards, but recovers and handsprings backwards on his hands, landing deftly on his feet. I go after him again, forcing him to block a flurry of punches and kicks, not all of which he can stop.

He looked a bit beat up when we started, but now, he's going to have to deal with a lot of serious bruising. My strikes have a lot of force behind them, and that's something he's learning firsthand, if his labored breathing is anything to judge by. My advantage over him is speed and agility, despite him being very talented in those departments himself.

He seems to get the idea that I'm just going to fight him hand to hand, so he stops even bothering with the firebending, and just comes at me barehanded. I block a couple of punches easily; it's his kicks that do some damage. My arms start to bruise as he uses his whole body weight to strengthen his kicks. And since he weighs probably fifteen or twenty pounds more than I do, it's a significant enough advantage. Plus, he's a guy, and well trained, so he's physically stronger than I am.

I take a hard hit to the stomach and nearly vomit, but I endure the pain and swing my leg behind him, nearly breaking his knee when I swing it back into the crook of his leg. But being this close and failing to debilitate him has left me wide open to an attack.

"Bad move, little girl." He grabs hold of my right arm and twists it behind my back. "Now what are you going to do? I've got your arm a little tied up."

At first, I try to struggle, and then I smirk. "You have my right arm tied up. But if you were going to choose an arm, you really should have picked it better." I swing my left arm down to his hip and hit him with my hardest palm strike yet, forcing him of me and forcing a curse out of his mouth.

He jumps back and holds his side. "Damn it, I should have realized that you're left-handed." Then the holds his hands out again. "But it doesn't matter; I'm going to put you down, now."

He starts firebending again, this time, bending so much fire that the whole oasis is in danger of going up in flames. Then, he aims it at Katara. So I leap I front of her and take the blast, protecting both her, and this sanctuary. I manage to direct some of it away, but enough force hits me that I'm driven to my knees. And before I can get back on my feet, Zuko is behind me.

Zuko grabs both of my arms with his right hand, and my hair with his left, then forces me to the ground, pinning me under his knee with his whole body's weight. I feel like my back is going to break. He places his mouth next to my ear and his voice is low. "You know, it's too bad that you disguised yourself this way. Your hair was much prettier when it was long."

He presses his hands to my neck, curling his fingers around my throat, and holds them there until it gets really hard to breathe. And as the world goes dark, I can feel him getting off my back, and my hands falling to my sides. I black out to the smell of fire and grass.

* * *

"Child! Young one, wake up!" I feel warm hands on my face and a gentle shaking. "You must wake up!"

I open my eyes and see the old man who is often with Zuko. "What's going on? Where did Zuko go?" Then I see that Aang is gone as well. "No!"

I sit up and the old man smiles. "It seems that you dueled with my nephew. Though considering your injuries, he must be in even worse shape than I thought. Injuries like this only come from desperate moves in hand to hand combat."

I push myself up and finally notice that the moon has turned a bloody red. And then, I see Zhao holding a bag. And what frightens me is that the bag is moving. "I am a legend now. The Fire Nation will, for generations, tell stories about the great Zhao, who darkened the moon! They will call me Zhao the Conqueror. Zhao the Moonslayer! Zhao the Invincible! ZHAO THE-"

"Zhao the Noisy…" I get to my feet and shake my head. "Do you ever shut up? Your monologue is getting really old, really fast." I glare at him and hold my hands out, wreathing my body in golden fire. I look into the pond and notice that one of the fish is gone, and then I glance at the bag, putting it all together. "I suggest that you let the fish go, or you're going to wish you were never born."

But before I can make a move, Momo jumps onto Zhao's head and starts messing with him, pulling on his eyelids, his hair, and his ears. The faces are amusing, and none of them can get Momo off until the lemur leaps off Zhao's head and right onto Aang's arm as Appa flies in with Aang, Katara, Sokka and Yue on his back. And most surprisingly, they brought an unconscious Zuko with them.

Zhao does not look pleased to see that he has to deal with all of us. "Don't bother." And he holds up the bag with the fish in it, pointing his fist at it, threatening to kill it.

Aang lowers his staff. "Zhao! Don't." He drops his staff and hols up his hands.

"It's my destiny to destroy the moon, and the Water Tribe." Clearly, this guy is nuts.

"Destroying the moon won't hurt just the Water Tribe. It will hurt everyone. Including you. Without the moon everything would fall out of balance. You have no idea what kind of chaos that would unleash on the world." Aang clearly wants to resolve this without hurting the fish, the moon spirit.

And he isn't the only one, the old man wants to as well. "He's right, Zhao."

Zhao is unimpressed. "General Iroh. Why am I not surprised to discover your treachery?"

Iroh lowers his hood. "I'm no traitor Zhao. The Fire Nation needs the moon too. We all depend on the balance." And now, Iroh is mad. "Whatever you do to that spirit, I'll unleash on you ten-fold! Let it go, now!"

Zhao gets to his knees, heeding Iroh's words. He releases the white fish back into the pond and it starts swimming again. But he's not done, his face contorts into a scowl, and he blasts the pond with fire, killing the moon spirit. The moon disappears from the sky as Iroh begins to fight. He brings down all of the guards, but Zhao manages to escape in the chaos, like the coward he is.

Iroh lifts the fish from the water, and Yue starts her lament. "There's no hope now, it's over."

"No, it's not over." Aang's tattoos glow and his voice deepens. He walks into the pond and sinks into the water. The water all glows blue and a huge entity of water, shaped like a monster koi fish, with Aang as its center, rises up and tears through the city, washing away all of the firebenders, but leaving the spirit-worshipping waterbenders, as well as all of us, unharmed.

Iroh puts the fish back in the water, but it's too late to save it. Or so we thought. Iroh turns to Yue. "You have been touched by the Moon Spirit. Some of its life is in you."

Yue's eyes light up with a little hope. "Yes, you're right. It gave me life, maybe I can give it back."

"No! You don't have to do that." Sokka reaches out to stop her, but Yue shakes her head.

"It's my duty, Sokka."

Sokka is desperate now. "I won't let you! Your father told me to protect you!"

She slips away from Sokka's grasp. "I have to do this." Yue goes to Iroh and touches her hands to the moon spirit. The fish starts to glow, and Yue falls back into Sokka's arms.

Sokka checks her for a pulse, and finds nothing. "No! She's gone, she's gone."

And then, she really is gone. Her body vanishes, and her spirit reappears in the air, glowing white above the pond. "Goodbye, Sokka. I'll always be with you." She gives Sokka a kiss before disappearing to become the spirit of the moon. And as she disappears, the moon reappears in the sky. Brighter and more beautiful than any full moon I've ever seen before.


	19. The Avatar State

**Book 2 : Earth**

As dawn comes, it's a victory for the Water Tribe. But not without cost. The city is half destroyed, and their princess is dead. They will be mourning this battle for a long time to come. But despite all of that, Pakku, and many of their healers decide to go to the Southern Water Tribe to help rebuild there. And the chief makes sure that we're well supplied for our journey back to the Earth Kingdom to find Aang an earthbending teacher. Pakku and the healers even let us stay on their boat while we travel south.

* * *

But finally, the day that we have to leave finally comes. And Pakku has a gift bag for us. "Katara, I want you to have this." He hands her a pretty conical amulet. "This amulet contains water from the spirit oasis. The water has unique properties. Don't lose it."

Katara takes her gift gratefully. "Thank you Master Pakku." Then she steps aside and lets Aang approach Pakku.

Pakku takes a box out of the bag. "Aang, these scrolls will help you master waterbending. But remember, they're no substitute for a real master."

Aang glances at Katara, then bows to Pakku and climbs on Appa. And finally, Pakku turns to Sokka. "Sokka." And as if just to burst Sokka's bubble of happiness, he pats him on the shoulder. "Take care, son."

But before I get into Appa's saddle myself, Pakku stops me. "Hold on, I have something for you."

I turn around and frown at him, confused. "You have something for me? You mean you like me enough to give me a present? I'm honored." I smirk at him, and surprisingly, he smiles back.

"Actually, it isn't so much a present, as a delivery. A friend of mine sent me a package for you, and I think you'll like what's inside." He reaches into the bag and pulls out a small package.

I unwrap it carefully, and find two boxes. The first contains a map, which I can't figure out how to read, since I don't know what it's a map to. And the second box contains a beautiful hairpiece, made out of gold and rubies, and shaped like wings. It has dangling gold chains that would fall to about my ears, and delicately woven threads of gold and silver that I assume tie into the hair to keep it in place. "What is this?"

Pakku smiles at me. "That is a map to your family's palace in the Fire Nation. And the hairpiece is what the crown princess would wear prior to marriage, as is custom, it now belongs to you. My friend sent them to me when he heard the covert rumors about your survival, and that you travel with the Avatar. He assumed that you would see me when Aang came north to train, so he sent them to me in the hopes of getting these two things to you."

My mouth drops open, then a couple of tears leak out of my eyes, and I hug Pakku with all my might. "Thank you. I never thought that I would see any part of my family ever again. Even if it's just a relic, it means more to me than you know."

He pats me on the head. "You're welcome, child. Now, you all should go, you have a long trip ahead of you." So I release him and clamber up into Appa's saddle as he begins to give Aang instructions. "Fly straight to the Earth Kingdom base to the east of here. General Fong will provide you with an escort to Omashu. There, you'll be safe to begin your earthbending training with King Bumi."

* * *

After such a nice send-off from the waterbenders, we head off across the water, and then across the land, towards the base commanded by General Fong. And for the first half hour, all I do is turn the hairpiece over in my hands, admiring every tiny detail, and the excellent craftsmanship.

But before long, Sokka gets excited. "There it is!" He points over a mountain at the large building rising up out of the valley. It's huge and sturdy, very much what I expect from earthbenders. So Aang brings us in for a landing, and it's good to be on solid ground again.

'Welcome, Avatar Aang!" The general sure seems glad to see us. "I am General Fong." He bows. "And welcome to all of you great heroes. Appa, Momo, brave Sokka, the mighty Katara." Then he looks at me. "And of course, the fierce Lady Ciara." And once he's addressed each of us, fireworks start going off behind us.

It's a bit too much fanfare for my tastes. But then, we get down to business and the general has us escorted inside so that we can talk. And of course, all of this makes me feel rather nervous, since we're just supposed to be getting an escort to Omashu.

The general addresses Aang first. "Avatar Aang, we were all amazed at the stories of how you singlehandedly wiped out an entire Fire Navy fleet at the North Pole. I can't imagine what it feels like to wield such devastating power. It's an awesome responsibility." And just the way he says that makes my skin crawl.

But Aang doesn't seem bothered. "I try not to think about it much."

The general regards him, and then smiles. "Avatar, you're ready to face the Fire Lord now."

"What? No I'm not!" Aang takes it badly, to say the least.

"Aang still needs to master all four elements." Katara stands up for Aang, and against this general's crazy plan, whatever it is.

But the general gets to his feet. "Why? With the kind of power he possesses, power enough to destroy hundreds of battleships in a matter of minutes, he could defeat the Fire Lord now!"

Sokka interjects. "But, Sir, the thing is, Aang can only do those things when he's in the Avatar State."

Aang goes on to explain what that is. "See, it this special state where-"

But the general cuts him off. "I'm well aware. Your eyes and tattoos glow, and you're able to summon unbelievable power. Without you, we'd be slaughtered before we even reached their shores. But with you leading the way, as the ultimate weapon, we could cut a swath right through to the heart of the Fire Nation."

Aang sounds nervous about that. "Right, but I don't know how to get in or out of the Avatar State. Much less what to do once I'm there."

And of course, this general jumps the gun. "So it's decided then, I'll help you figure out how to get into the Avatar State, and then, you'll face your destiny."

"All right, hold up." I stand up and signal for him to stop talking. "This whole thing is nuts. You haven't seen the kind of devastation that state causes. It would be more likely to blow up in our faces than actually help." Then I glance at Aang. "Sorry, but it's true. You just don't have any control over it, and that's the most dangerous part. Remember the Southern Air Temple? That didn't go so well, did it? I don't think that it's a power that you should rely on. It's a last resort, at best. It's like how firebending is to me. It's my most powerful, most devastating, but least controllable ability. I would rather solve things with my own hands, or with a weapon, before resorting to firebending."

Katara agrees with me and the other three stand up. "Nothing is decided. We already have a plan. Aang is pursuing his destiny his way."

The general looks quite displeased. "Well, while you take your time learning the elements, the war goes on." Then he changes tactics. "May I show you something?"

He takes Aang to the window. And shows him the infirmary, filled with injured soldiers, the lucky ones who actually made it back alive. So basically, because Aang won't bend to his will, he's trying to guilt him into trying it his way.

Later into the evening, when the rest of us are lounging on our beds, Aang goes out, then comes back, with a serious expression on his face. "I told the general that I'd help him, by going into the Avatar state."

"Aang, no, this is not the right way." Katara is against this idea.

"Why not? Remember when he took out the Fire Navy? It was incredible." And Sokka is all for the plan.

"There's a right way to do this. Practice, study, and discipline."

"Or just glow it up and stop that Fire Lord.

And now, Katara loses it. "If you two meatheads want to throw away everything we've worked for, fine. Go ahead and glow it up."

And now Aang tries to defend his decision. "Katara, I'm just being realistic. I don't have time to do this the right way." But by now, Katara has left the room.

I glance at Aang and Sokka. "I'm not going to pretend that I know which way is right, but I will say this. The general's idea will probably cost more lives than it saves. So whatever you decide to do, be very careful, because I know that you won't be able to handle getting blood on your hands." And with that, I turn over and go to sleep.

Starting in the morning, the general tries all sorts of ideas to try and induce the Avatar State. The first is a chi-enhancing tea, which basically just turns Aang into a hyperactive ball of energy. The second is Sokka trying to shock Aang into the Avatar State by replacing his head with Momo. The third attempt involves ceremonial clothing from each of the bending nations, then covering Aang in a combination fire, water, earth and air, meaning mud, hot mud. And all that one does is make Aang sneeze.

It takes me an hour of contemplation to decide that I'm not going to continue sitting by and watching these pathetic attempts at grabbing more power. If Aang were ready for it, he would be able to do it on his own. Triggering the activation of power forcefully will only lead to disaster.

So, I sit on top of the tower in the center of the base. That is, until I hear something very disturbing. "Men! Attack the Avatar!"

I look down to see Aang fighting the earthbenders, and using his agility and airbending to avoid their attacks. He refuses to attack back, and obviously, the general's stunt is going to backfire. I just hope that it doesn't backfire in the worst possible way.

Katara and Sokka run out to help Aang, so I jump down from the top of the tower and run along the wall until I reach the bottom. And as I reach the bottom, I see that the general is trying to kill Katara by sinking her into the ground.

Aang begs the general to let her go, but since he doesn't see any glowing, he just keeps sinking her into the ground, until only her head is still sticking out. Then, he does something very stupid. He submerges Katara completely, and it works, Aang goes into the Avatar State. And he is not happy. He makes a funnel cloud, and only now that it's too late, does the general pull Katara out of the ground.

But it really is too late, and Aang unleashes devastative power that knocks all of the earthbenders off their feet. And then, Aang suddenly collapses. Katara runs to Aang to comfort him, because this obviously took quite a toll on him. "I'm sorry, Katara. I hope you never have to see me like that again."

The general, on the other hand, is clearly insane. "Ha! Are you joking? That was almost perfect! We just have to find a way to control you when you're like that."

Aang looks at him sternly. "You're out of your mind."

But the general looks a little too eager for my tastes. "I guess we'll figure that out on the way to the Fire Nation."

I pick him up by the front of his armor and glare at him. "You won't be figuring out anything. We're leaving for Omashu, and you're staying here. And if you ever try anything like this again, I'll entertain myself by making you dance on my personal bed of coals." Then I swing him around and slam him on his back, making a small crater in the ground. "That is for hurting my friends!"

Sokka comes riding over on an ostrich horse and looks at the other earthbenders after checking out the general. He points to the general. "Anybody got a problem with that?" And under my glare, they all shake their heads and don't say another word.

A few of the guards approach us. "Do you still want an escort to Omashu?"

Katara looks at Aang, then back at the guards. "I think we're all set."

I stretch my arms and jump onto Appa's head. "Alright, I'm flying this time, so let's go. I don't want to look at the moron in the dirt any longer than I have to."

And with that, everyone gets into the saddle and we take off, heading back to the twisting city of mail chute mountains that is Omashu. Led, of course, by the craziest king I have ever met. Aang's old friend Bumi.


	20. Return to Omashu

On the way, Katara goes about teaching Aang some more waterbending, and Sokka lounges around while I do a bit of swimming. Although, I'm very careful to not let Katara see the metal embedded in my back, the curse that brands me as a traitor, an exile. And the mark that is nothing short of a death sentence for me.

Sokka looks at us from his big floating leaf, lounging in the sun. "You guys are going to be done soon, right? We have a lot of ground to cover if we're going to make it to Omashu today."

Katara smirks at her brother from the shallow water. "What, like you're ready to go right now, naked guy?"

Sokka dismisses her easily. "I could be ready in two minutes. Serious, whenever."

I roll my eyes, but I figure that it's about time I got out of the water anyway. So I swim away from the deep water, towards the shore. I walk on the smooth rocks, finally getting to sand, and onto the shore, where my outer clothes are waiting for me. I dry myself quickly by heating myself up and causing all of the water to swirl off my skin as clouds of steam billow around me.

But as I'm getting dressed, a group of people approach the river, one of them singing. "Da, da, da. Don't fall in love with the traveling girl. She'll leave you broke and broken-hearted." Then he notices us. "Hey, river people!"

Katara looks confused. "We're not river people."

The musician scratches his head. "You're not? Well then what kind of people are you?"

Just…people." Aang shrugs, since there's not really a way to describe out band of misfits.

The musician nods. "Aren't we all, brother?"

Sokka is immediately suspicious of these newcomers. "Who are you?"

"I'm Chong and this is my wife, Lily. We're nomads. Happy to go wherever the wind takes us." And he tries to make his point by strumming on his instrument like a madman.

"But Aang warms up to them immediately. "You guys are nomads? That's great! I'm a nomad!"

"Hey, me too!" This nomad clearly is not all there.

Aang's face falls a little as he realizes the same thing. "I know…you just said that."

Chong suddenly notices Sokka's attire. "Oh. Nice underwear."

Aang goes and sits with Chong, listening to his stories about their travels around the Earth Kingdom. One of the nomads takes an interest in my hair, and she starts braiding it up with a couple of pretty flowers. I didn't think that my hair was long enough for braiding, but I guess it's grown a couple of inches since we arrived at the North Pole, because somehow, she manages it with no problem.

But since we're all a little busy, Sokka pipes up. "Look, I hate to be a wet blanket here, but Since Katara is busy, I guess it's up to me. We need to get to Omashu. No sidetracks, no worms, and definitely no rainbows."

"Wow, sounds like someone has a case of destination fever. You're worried too much about where you're going." Chong strums on his guitar happily, obviously not on the same train of thought as Sokka.

Lily agrees with him. "You got to focus less on the where, and more on the going."

Finally, Katara agrees. "Sokka's right. We need to find King Bumi, so Aang can learn earthbending somewhere safe."

"Sounds like you're headed to Omashu." And once again, Chong's density amazes me. Sokka expresses it for me instead. "There's an old story about a secret pass right through the mountains."

"Is this real, or a legend?" Katara isn't convinced, but I wouldn't doubt the existence of a pass, mountains always have something like that.

"Oh, it's a real legend. And it's as old as earthbending itself." Chong starts strumming on his instrument. "Two lovers, forbidden form one another, the war divides their people and the mountain divides them apart! Built a path to be together!" He suddenly stops playing. "Yeah, I forgot the next couple of lines, but then it goes…" He starts strumming loudly again, with a voice to match. "Secret tunnel! Secret tunnel! Through the mountains, secret, secret, secret, secret tunnel! Yeah!"

But instead of going underground with them. We listen to Sokka, and decide to try flying Appa over the mountains. Unfortunately for us, there is a Fire Nation outpost that nearly shoots us out of the sky, forcing us back to the ground.

* * *

As we rejoin the nomads, Sokka points at the mountain. "Secret love cave, let's go."

And so, we travel to the base of the mountains with the nomads, listening to their slightly annoying music along the way. I don't say anything about it, I just try to put up with it as much as possible without going completely mad.

Finally, Sokka's frustration bursts. "How far are we from the tunnel?"

"Actually, it's not just one tunnel. The lovers didn't want anyone to find out about their love, so they built a whole labyrinth." Chong's words make my heart sink. I hate being underground. And the longer we're underground, the angrier I'll be.

"All you need to do is trust in love…according to the curse." Lily says it like it's nothing. But that just makes me even more nervous.

We find the hole that leads into the mountains, and I look inside, feeling very nervous about our chances. "Ugh…it just had to be tunnels…"

"What's that?" Aang touches my arm, wondering what I said.

I shake my head. "It's nothing, I'm just not fond of caves. Lots of bad memories. I'll be fine though, I just need to think happy thoughts."

"That's it! There's no way we're going through some cursed hole!" Sokka voices his thoughts, loudly, bringing my attention back to our company, and frankly, I'm not looking forward to this either.

But then, Moku points out a pillar of smoke from a campfire. Except it's not a campfire, it's Fire Nation soldiers. And that quickly convinces us to just go into the tunnel and hope for the best. Because I would rather go into a labyrinth of tunnels than get caught by the Fire Nation. And Sokka completely changes his tune. "Everyone into the hole!"

But only a minute after we enter the tunnel, we all feel a rumbling, and look back to see the Fire Nation soldiers collapsing the entrance of the tunnel and closing us in here. It gets dark fast, so the nomads light a torch, we've got five of them, plus my firebending if it comes to that. And Sokka takes out some paper and ink and starts drawing us a map so that we can navigate through the tunnels.

But when Sokka keeps leading us into dead ends, and he comes to a crazy conclusion. "There's only one explanation. The tunnels are changing."

I think it's unlikely, but then a small earthquake makes me wonder. And to top it all off, a giant wolf bat swoops out of the darkness and nearly gives us all heart-attacks. Sokka tries to fight it off with a torch, but Appa ends up getting burned instead. And that gets Appa raging and panicking, and he thrashes around so much that he ends up separating us from Katara and Aang.

Sokka panics and tries to dig his way to the other side, but gives up after bringing down a bunch of rock on top of him. I have to dig him out, and then, when we continue on, the nomad with the guitar just annoys the crap out of us with his bad singing. And it gets even worse when Sokka insists on following his map, and he leads us into even more dead ends.

And then Chong suggests that they sing a love song to get out. And of course, since I can't stop them from singing, I just ignore them and look around for any clues that I can find. But I fail miserably, since there's just nothing but tunnel walls. The last time I was underground, I ended up in a cave in, and I nearly blew the top off a mountain trying to escape. That was the only time I was ever truly afraid of the effects of my firebending.

Then, we end up nearly attacked by a horde of fleeing wolf bats, and we meet a couple of gigantic badger moles. They earthbend around us and go on the attack, until Sokka accidentally smacks his hand on the guitar, and we find out that they're music lovers. Strange, but convenient, and at this point, I'll take just about anything if it means getting out of here. So the nomads start making music, and the badger moles let us ride them out as they earthbend right out of the tunnels.

And outside the tunnels are Aang and Katara, both very happy to see us. And now that we're out of the tunnels, the badger moles go back into their mountain and effectively close the doors behind them. And that's where we part ways with the strange musical nomads. And I have to say, I hope I don't hear any music for at least another week.

I turn to Sokka and sigh. "If anyone here starts singing for the next week, I'm throwing them off Appa."

"Agreed." He climbs up into the saddle after me, and we get back on track to Omashu, flying for a little while, before touching back down on a mountaintop outside the city.

* * *

But, now that we're this close to our destination, we climb up to the top of a mountain and Sokka look happy. "The journey was long and annoying, but now you get to see what it's really about. The destination. I present to you, the Earth Kingdom city of O-" And he suddenly loses his voice as we see smoke rising from the city, and the Fire Nation banner hanging above the front gates. "Oh no…"

"I can't believe it. I know the war has spread far, but Omashu always seemed untouchable." Aang looks sadly at the city, probably consumed with worry for his friend Bumi.

"Up until now, it was. Now Ba Sing Se is the only great Earth Kingdom stronghold left." Sokka isn't pleased with this situation either.

Katara tries to be the voice of reason. "This is horrible, but we have to move on."

"No. I'm going in to find Bumi."

"Aang, stop. We don't even know if Bumi's still…" Sokka loses the end of his sentence, and Aang gets mad. "What? If he's still what?"

"A-Around." Sokka deliberately avoids using the word dead, and we all know it.

"I know you had your heart set on Bumi, but there are other people who can teach you earthbending." Again, Katara tries to be the gentle voice of reason, but I know that this is far more complicated than just finding a teacher.

But Aang is having none of it. "This isn't about finding a teacher; this is about finding my friend." And once again, Aang proves my assumptions right.

So Aang turns to me with a determined look on his face. "That place is crawling with Fire Nation. And you, more than Sokka and Katara, are in immediate danger because of that. On the other hand, you are also a good last resort. So could you please stay out here with Appa and wait for us. And if anything goes wrong, you'll probably know right away. So stay out here and be our secret weapon. Okay?"

I grumble about it a bit, but finally relent, since I really am in more danger around the Fire Nation than Sokka and Katara. "Alright, fine. But if the city starts blowing up, I'm zooming in and I don't care what you say about it. I won't just abandon you all in there."

Aang nods. "Alright, it's a plan."

So I fly Appa down to where there is a secret sewer passage, and Aang leads Sokka and Katara into it. I fly Appa back towards the mountains to wait. And I just know that with them sneaking around, this is going to be a very long wait. I lie on Appa's head, scratching him gently behind the ears. "It's alright, they're going to be just fine…" He roars quietly, and I give him another good scratch on the head.

* * *

Nothing happens throughout the night. But just before noon, the gates open and the citizens of Omashu start pouring out of the city. And as the day once again passes into night, I help Katara and Sokka get the citizens settled safely away from the city. There are just so many of them that it's a matter of time more than effort. I even light them some fires to keep warm.

Aang arrives later, with only Flopsy Bumi's pet. That must mean that he wasn't able to find Bumi yet. And somehow, a little boy in Fire Nation clothes has managed to tag along with the people from the city. Though I imagine that he must be the son of whoever is in charge of the city now. That could get dicey, if we end up having to return him ourselves.

And if that all wasn't bad enough, the kid is overly fond of grabbing Momo's tail, and playing with things that he really shouldn't touch. Katara coos over how cute the baby is, but the commander isn't pleased. "Sure, he's cute now, but when he's older, he'll join the Fire Nation army. You won't think he's so cute then. He'll be a killer."

"Does that look like the face of a killer to you?" Katara holds him up, the squeezes him tight.

I glance at the commander and scowl. "You know, not all of us are monsters. I'm a firebender, and I haven't tried to kill any of you yet. And I'm not going to, unless you try to kill me first. And even then, I'll probably still hold back. So don't make us all out to be monsters just because there's a war going on."

But my fuming is interrupted by the arrival of a messenger hawk. It lands first on a rock, then it must sense my higher body temperature, because it comes and lands gently on my arm. I take the scroll out of the holster on its back and hand it to Aang.

Aang reads it. "It's from the Fire Nation governor. He thinks we kidnapped his son. So he wants to make a trade. His son, for King Bumi." And there, Aang's eyes go wide with shock.

"Well, at least now we know that King Bumi is alive, and still in the city. Otherwise, they would never propose such a trade, not if the governor values his son as much as he seems to." I let the messenger hawk fly back to the city and I watch it glide through the air. "Now, the question is, who is going to be the one to make the trade?"

"I will." Aang looks at me, determined. "I need to do this."

"Alright, then I'll stay here and look after the people. If the Fire Nation decides to attack us out here, then I'll probably see them long before anyone else does." I glance at the commander. "After all, I do have hunting skills, which involve tracking prey, as well as shooting arrows and throwing knives over varying distances."

Aang nods. "Then I'm taking Katara, Sokka and Appa. I'll need backup in the city in case something goes wrong."

"Meaning that you're going to need them, because something always goes wrong." I smirk at him as he leaves. "Don't have too much fun without me!"

And a few hours later, Aang returns for me. "Bumi's fine, he's just waiting for the right moment to take back his city. But he told me to look for an earthbender who has mastered the art of listening, and waiting."

I smirk. "Cryptic, but better than nothing. And I seem to recall that Bumi likes making things cryptic. So, let's go find you your earthbending teacher!"

He smiles. "Appa, yip yip!" And it's on to whatever comes next. We've got a huge kingdom to search, and not a lot of time.


	21. The Swamp

And we're flying again. I swear that we spend more time in the air than anywhere else. Appa must love being in the sky, because if I were him, by this point, I would be staging a mutiny. And when we fly over a swamp, that's about when I draw the line. The scent coming up from it is funky, to say the least. And something about it is strange.

Appa starts going down towards the swamp, and Sokka notices. "Hey, you taking us down for a reason?" But Aang isn't paying attention to him. "Aang, why are we going down?"

"What, I didn't even notice." Aang sure is air-headed today.

Sokka gets impatient. "Are you noticing now?"

"Is something wrong?" Katara pokes her head over the side to check out the situation for herself.

"I know this is going to sound weird, but I think the swamp is calling to me." I roll my eyes at Aang, because yes, it does sound weird.

Sokka, as always, is thinking with his stomach. "Is it telling you where we can get something to eat?"

But Aang continues to be cryptic. "No, I…I think it wants us to land there." Maybe Bumi is rubbing off on him.

"No offense to the swamp, but I don't see any land there to land on." And this time, Sokka has a point. Sure, there are plenty of trees, but I don't actually see anything made of solid rock down there.

Aang shrugs. "I don't know. Bumi said to learn earthbending I would have to wait and listen, and now I'm actually hearing the earth. Do you want me to ignore it?"

"Yes." Sokka is very straightforward about not wanting to go down there. Katara, on the other hand, is a little more nervous. "I don't know. There's something ominous about that place."

Momo shivers and hides inside the saddle, and Appa groans loudly. Sokka uses that to support his argument. "See, even Appa and Momo don't like it here."

Aang figures that he's been outvoted, so he turns Appa away from the swamp. "Okay, since everyone feels so strongly about this, bye swamp. Yip yip!"

The swamp, on the other hand, doesn't seem to want to let us leave, and a tornado comes after us. I take one look at it and my hot blood runs cold. "We're in so much trouble…" And despite Aang's efforts to get us away from the tornado, it ends up sucking us up into the vortex and forcing us down into the forest. Aang uses airbending to keep us together, but then we get flung down by the tornado, and I end up split up from the rest of the group.

Alone in this creepy magic swamp, I'm completely lost. And I hate all the gooey water. So I get onto the large roots coming out of the water and start looking around for something, anything sentient, and preferably something that isn't going to try to kill me or eat me. But I can't, so I find a place to bunk down for the night. And then, after a night of restless sleep, the hallucinations start.

I know that they're hallucinations, because they're visions of people that are long since dead. And they're not like the nightmares I usually have. I see my parents, grandparents, and they look at me accusingly. "You abandoned us. Only you survived. Only you carry the curse of golden fire. Cursed child. Marked for death. You will die!"

Their angry taunts and curses on me scare me. I know that they're hallucinations, but they seem so real. "You will die! Just like us. Your life is over!" And I turn and bolt, I try to get as far away from them as possible. But they're everywhere, and only one direction is clear. So I run for my life, crying and screaming for help. I feel like a child, trapped in my own nightmare.

An image of my father appears in front of me, glaring at me coldly. "You should be dead. I died to protect you. You should be dead." A terrible leer crosses his face. "But you will be soon enough. You are marked for death. The more you fight, the sooner you die. You are going to die."

Frozen in fear, all I can do is look into his hard gold eyes, and tremble. I know that my father would never say something like that. He loved me too much to ever say something like that. But I would. I would say those things to myself. I was always wracked with guilt over being the only survivor of the massacre. I've told myself so many times that I'm the one who should have died, and that he should have been the one to survive. But I know that he would never have been able to live with himself if I'd died in his place. Despite knowing that, my guilt still tortures me. These hallucinations are a product of my own guilt and loneliness. But his eyes are so familiar, and the cold look in them forces tears from my eyes. And I turn away, running as if my life depended on it. Because my sanity certainly does.

I run so long that I can't even tell how long I've been running. And then suddenly, I smash right into Aang and we both go tumbling into the water. He pushes me off him and stares at me. "Ciara! Where have you been? What's wrong? We heard you screaming, and then you just appeared out of nowhere."

My trembling refuses to stop, and I just grab onto Aang's collar and sob into his shirt. "Don't leave me alone, I don't want to see it again. I never want to see any of it again!" More tears pour down my cheeks and soak Aang's clothes.

He starts patting my head gently. "It's okay; it's going to be okay. You're safe here with us."

And as if to contradict him, a huge monster covered in vines emerges from the water and scares the crap out of us. It attacks Sokka first, and then goes after Aang. And I just curl up in a ball and hide. It's too wet here for my firebending, and against something that size, martial arts will be useless, and my knives are too small to put a dent in it. So all I can do is watch as Aang, Katara and Sokka try and fail to fight the thing. Washing it away, hacking at it, and trying to blow it away.

So, when Sokka gets caught and taken inside the monster, Aang twists the thing up with an airbending tornado, and Katara frees Sokka by freezing him out of the vines and blasting a hole through the monster. Aang shoves its face into the water, then gets sent flying. So Katara sends sharp discs of water at it, cutting it to pieces, over and over, revealing a person inside. So she cuts the mask in half and Aang returns, blowing away most of the vine and revealing our attacker.

Aang confronts the attacker. "Why did you call me here if you just wanted to kill us?"

"Wait!" The man in the vines stops his bending and reveals himself to us. A pudgy, grey-haired old man in a leafy loincloth. "I didn't call you here."

Aang is now confused. "We were flying over and I heard something calling to me, telling me to land."

"He's the Avatar. Stuff like this happens to us, a lot." Sokka explains it to the confused water, plantbender? Ugh, it's some weird kind of waterbending if he's controlling plants.

"The Avatar? Come with me." The old man leads the way to the huge tree in the middle of the swamp. And the tree gives me the creeps.

So apparently, the big tree calls a lot of people here, not just us. And you can reach enlightenment here, because it's a sacred and mystical place. Great, and we get to have scary visions here as well. And, it turns out that this whole swamp is just one tree spread out over many miles, and all the smaller trees are just offshoots of the main one. Fantastic…I hate this place already. And I can't understand why anyone would want to live here.

And now comes the answer I've been hoping to hear, and the swampbender provides it. "In the swamp, we see visions of people we've lost, people we loved, folks we think are gone. But the swamp tells us they're not. We're still connected to em. Time is an illusion, and so is death."

Now, Aang is confused. "But what about my vision? It was someone I've never met."

The swampbender grins. "You're the Avatar, you tell me."

So Aang thinks about it for a minute. "Time is an illusion. So, it's someone I will meet."

Now, we just have to find Appa and Momo and get out of here. So Aang taps into the Tree's power and searches all over for them, through the entire swamp. And when he finds them, we hurry towards them and nearly kill a bunch of the swampbender's friends. And when they recognize each other, it all turns out to be one big misunderstanding and we end up being invited over for dinner.

And while Sokka and Aang debate how much natural and mystical shit was going down, I cuddle up with Appa and go to sleep. After the crazy and scary couple of days I've had, I need something a little more stable and comforting.


	22. Avatar Day

But as we continue our travels, Momo ends up causing a riot in camp that ends up attracting a group of Fire Nation bounty hunters. And we have only seconds to grab our stuff and get away. Katara grabs the waterbending scroll, Aang grabs his staff, I grab my pack, and Sokka grabs some of the supplies, and most of his weapons. But we end up leaving a sleeping bag and Sokka's boomerang behind.

We find our way to a town to buy some food. The merchant hands the food to Sokka with a smile. "Here's your produce ponytail guy."

Sokka looks totally dejected. "I used to be boomerang guy."

Katara hands the man some money for the food, and he goes wide-eyed. "Hey, Water Tribe money!"

"I hope that's okay." Katara suddenly looks unsure of herself. It's some of the money left over from what the chief of the North Pole gave us.

The merchant puts away the coin. "So long as it's money. Have a nice Avatar Day!"

That catches Aang's attention quickly. "Avatar Day?"

The merchant turns and waves to us. "You guys are going to the festival, right?"

And with Aang and Katara getting excited about the thought of going to a festival about the Avatar, we end up going to check out what the townspeople of a nearby village call Avatar Day. Aang looks around happily. "There's a holiday for the Avatar. Who knew?"

Katara points to one of the floats. "Look! They made a Kiyoshi float!"

"And here comes Avatar Roku!" Sokka points to the next float in line.

Aang smiles. "Having a huge festival in your honor is great, but frankly, it's just nice to be appreciated."

"And it's nice to appreciate their deep-fried festival food!" Sokka starts stuffing food in his mouth, because once again, his stomach is all he cares about.

"Aang, look!" Katara points to a third float, catching Aang's attention. "That's the biggest me I've ever seen!"

But instead of celebrating the Avatars, a guy runs up with a torch and lights them on fire, and the crowd loves it. They starts chanting "Down with the Avatar!"

But Katara won't stand for it, and she waterbends a bunch of water onto the statues and puts out all of the fire. One of the men in the crowd points to her. "That party pooper's ruining Avatar Day!"

Aang jumps through the air and lands on the shoulder of his paper statue. "That party pooper's my friend!" He takes off his hat, revealing his head tattoo. And now, the people are all scared that he's going to kill them with his Avatar powers.

The guy who seems to be the mayor of the town steps up haughtily, after getting up from his cowering. "I suggest you leave! You're not welcome here, Avatar!"

Katara turns to the weird man. "Why not? Aang helps people."

Aang comes floating down from the statue. "It's true! I'm on your side."

The mayor sniffs. "I find that hard to swallow, considering what you did to us in your past life! It was Avatar Kiyoshi; she murdered our glorious leader, Chin the Great." Somehow, that name rings a bell. Something about Chin the Conqueror, not Chin the Great.

Aang is shocked. "You think that I…murdered someone?"

Outbursts and booing for Aang erupt from the crowd, no matter what Aang or Katara say in his defense. So, that leaves Aang to go with the most reasonable course of action. Meaning reasonable to him, and illogical to me. He challenges the mayor. "Give me a chance to clear my name!"

The mayor crosses his arms. "The only way to prove your innocence is to stand trial."

"I'll gladly stand trial!" Aang is confident that he'll win, but I'm not so sure about his chances.

"You'll have to follow all of our rules. That includes paying bail." Aang takes up the mayor's challenge. But as it turns out, they won't accept Water Tribe money for bail, and he gets thrown in jail and locked up.

After getting locked up, Aang gets Sokka and Katara to investigate, and Katara approaches me. "Hey Ciara, do you think you could stick around and keep Aang company? I don't want anything to happen to him while we're away. The last thing we need is to have something happen to the one who's supposed to save the world."

So, while Sokka and Katara investigate, I stick around the village and keep an eye on the prison to make sure that no one pulls any funny stuff. Though frankly, listening to the prisoners have a therapy session about catching girls with Aang is not my cup of tea. Actually, I don't like tea at all.

But when the two come back from Kiyoshi with evidence, the mayor just ignores it all and has the trial go ahead in the morning. He states his case, leaving almost no room to even argue properly, then lets Aang tell his story, which he's basically guaranteed that no one is going to believe.

"Ladies and gentlemen. I'm about to tell you what really happened. And I will prove it, with facts. Fact number one." And then, Aang freezes. So Sokka gives him a hand. "The footprints."

"Oh, yeah. You see, I have very large feet." And that doesn't convince anyone, since his feet are much smaller than Kiyoshi's would have been. "Uh, fact number two, your temple, matches your statue. But, I was in a painting at sunset." He smiles nervously. "So, there you have it. I'm not guilty." And to wrap it up, he does a little dance.

And then, Katara pulls something crazy. "Mayor Tong. I would like for the court to hear one last testimony."

"I've already told you, it's just me, and the accused. You can't call any witnesses."

"This isn't just any witness. I'm going to call, Avatar Kiyoshi herself." And just like that, Aang emerges from the temple, dressed up like his past life, Avatar Kiyoshi. And in my personal opinion, he doesn't look convincing at all.

"This is a mockery of Chin law." The mayor protests angrily, and frankly, I'm getting really worried.

Katara tries to calm him. "Please, if you could just wait one more second, I'm sure that Kiyoshi will be here."

"Hey everybody, Avatar Kiyoshi here." Aang's impersonation of her is hardly stunning.

"This is ridiculous." The mayor gets to his feet and approaches Aang. "For the murder of Chin the Great, this court finds the Avatar-"

But what cuts him off is a dust storm that obscures all view of Aang, and the sky goes dark with dust and dirt. And when it clears, a whole new person is standing there. A tall woman with black hair, and a deep, charismatic voice. The true Avatar Kiyoshi has come forward, from within the depths of Aang's soul.

"I killed Chin the Conqueror. A horrible tyrant. Chin was expanding his army to all corners of the continent. When they came to the neck of the peninsula where we lived, he demanded our immediate surrender. I warned him that I would not sit passively while he took our home. But he did not back down. On that day, we split from the mainland. I created Kiyoshi Island so my people could be safe from invaders." And with that, her spirit disappears and Aang nearly collapses, held up only by Katara.

The mayor decides to find Aang guilty of the murder and has the villagers bring out some kind of punishment wheel, where the wheel is spun in order to determine the punishment. A stupid way of deciding, if you ask me, but I'm not in charge.

So Aang spins the wheel and it lands on being boiled in a pot of oil. But to interrupt all of this, the Fire Nation group from earlier. "We've come to claim this village for the Fire Lord! Now show me your leader so I may…dethrone him!" He slices his huge weapon through the air, slicing right through the statue of Chin the Conqueror.

The mayor gets on the ground. "Ahhh! You, Avatar, do something!"

Aang just stands there. "Gee, I'd love to help, but I'm supposed to be boiled in oil."

So the stupid mayor turns the wheel to community service instead. "There, community service! Now serve our community and get rid of those rhinos!"

Aang springs into action and quickly brings down the first of the Rough Rhinos. So they decide to go on a rampage through the town. I go chasing after one, leaping across rooftops, before jumping down into the street. I manage to catch him and I scare the rhino so badly with a fire blast that it runs right out of the town, dragging its rider along by a stirrup.

It's over in less than ten minutes. And because of Aang's efforts today, they decide to hold a new Avatar Day to celebrate Aang, instead of burning down a statue of Kiyoshi. All in all, this isn't the worst way for the day to end. But I don't eat any of the new festival food, since uncooked dough would be bad for my stomach.


	23. The Blind Bandit

We move on and stop two days later in a town's market to pick up supplies, and Sokka starts debating with himself over whether or not to but a bag that he likes, even though it's a little expensive. And ultimately, he buys the thing.

"Psst, psst! Hey, you kids like earthbending? You like…throwing rocks? Then check out Master Yu's Earthbending Academy." The distribution guy hands Aang a coupon for a free earthbending lesson at an actual school. I think it seems dodgy though, and frankly, he's the Avatar, some small school isn't going to cut it. He needs a teacher as crazy as the rest of us. A teacher who is willing to travel around with us and teach Aang on the fly, because we never stay in one place too long. The weeks we spent at the North Pole were the longest we'd stayed anywhere since we all met.

Though with winter over and the dye gone from my hair, I have a debate of my own while Aang looks at trying out the earthbending school. I have to decide on whether or not to dye my hair again. Frankly, it's unneeded now, because everyone knows that we're flying around, so hiding is a little pointless. Besides, after getting new clothes at the North Pole, I'm wearing a pretty purple dress with white sleeves, and blue pants. So it's not as though I look the same anymore. And my hair is only just above my shoulders now, so the wanted posters don't really show me very accurately, besides, the posters don't show my hair color properly, and that's my most distinguishing feature. And if it comes down to it, I can always just wear a hood.

* * *

We hang around for a while so that Aang can try out the free lesson at the academy. But after the lesson, Aang comes out of the school looking disappointed. "Ehhh, he's not the one."

"I think The Boulder is going to win back the belt at Earth Rumble Six." One of the students, talking about something that sounds illegal, which might just be the lead we need.

"He's going to have to fight his way through the best earthbenders in the world to even get a shot at the champ." His friend confirms my suspicion; this is exactly the lead we need.

Aang seems to know it too, because he approaches them. "Excuse me, but where is this earthbending tournament exactly?"

The taller one smirks. "It's on the Island of Nonya. None o ya business." And the two morons walk off laughing at the idiotic joke.

Sokka finds the joke funny, but Katara just assures Aang that she'll handle this, and she runs off after the boys, acting like she's going to flirt the information out of them. But I have a sneaking suspicion that it's going to involve less flirting and more waterbending.

"This is not going to be pretty…" I shake my head with dumb resignation.

Katara comes back a minute later with a smile on her face. "You ready to find an earthbending teacher? Because we're going to Earth Rumble Six."

Aang looks confused. "How'd you get them to tell you?"

"Oh, a girl has her ways." And she says that so nicely that I know that she waterbended them into telling her.

* * *

So, we spend the rest of the day making our way to the underground, literally, competition for professional earthbenders. And we soon figure out why no one else takes the front row seats, as a boulder comes crashing into the stands.

The host of this tournament appears on the stage and earthbends a little to get everyone pumped up. "Welcome to Earth Rumble Six. I am your host, Xin Fu."

"This is just going to be a bunch of guys chucking rocks at each other, isn't it?" Katara is already bored with this, and it hasn't even started.

Sokka, on the other hand, seems quite excited. "That's what I paid for."

"The rules are simple. Just knock the other guy out of the ring, and you win." Xin Fu leaps up to the referee's stand and announces the first round.

The Boulder and the Big Bad Hippo both seem sturdy, but there is no way that either of them are what we're looking for. And frankly, I don't think that I could put up with their dry wit. And Aang doesn't think much of the contestants yet either. The rounds continue and I still haven't seen anyone nearly interesting enough to join our group.

Eventually, we get to the finals. And what I see intrigues me. The Blind Bandit. The champion is a blind little girl. So, either this is rigged, or this little blind girl is a fearsome earthbender. And frankly, I'm betting on the latter.

"The Boulder feels conflicted about fighting a young blind girl." And here we go, the comments in third person, again. This guy is a complete idiot.

"Sounds to me like you're scared Boulder." Immediately, I like this girl. She's got a snarky attitude and pretty much no fear in the face of an opponent that she can't see.

I nudge Aang. "Hey, I think this might be the one you're looking for. I like her already. And my instincts are telling me that she's a lot more powerful than anyone here imagines.

Her taunt has gotten to her opponent. "The Boulder's over his conflicted feelings. And now he's ready to bury you, in a rock-a-lanche."

The girl just smirks and keeps on snarking. "Whenever you're ready! The Pebble!" And she starts laughing her head off.

The Boulder takes a step, but just as he takes his second one, the girl moves. Somehow, she can see without seeing. She waits and listens, just like what Bumi had told Aang. And because of her perfect timing, she just breaks The Boulder's footing and sends him right into the splits. And man, it looks like it hurts. Then she sends him flying right out of the arena.

"Two moves, that's all it took." I glance at Aang. "Well, am I right? Is she the one for you?"

Aang smiles. "Yeah, she's the one. That's who Bumi was talking about. And she's the girl that I saw in the swamp. That's my earthbending teacher."

Katara is stunned. "How did she do that?"

"She waited, and listened." And now, Aang is positive in his choice of teacher.

Then, to make things interesting, the host jumps down to the arena. "To make things a little more interesting, I'm offering up this sack of gold pieces to anyone who can defeat The Blind Bandit." But when no one goes up, he looks around, a little disappointed. "What? No one dares to face her?"

"I will." And of course, Aang just has to go down there to fight. But I'm sure that his motive is actually to get close to the girl and ask her to teach him.

The girl seems amused by that. "Do people really want to see two little girls fighting out here?"

"I don't really want to fight you; I want to talk to you."

But the girl doesn't seem to want to sit down and talk, and she just goes right into trying to knock Aang out of the ring. "Somebody's a little light on his feet. What's your fighting name? The Fancy Dancer?"

But Aang just runs around her, dodging her attacks. "Please, wait!" And she sends a boulder flying at him.

Aang blows the boulder away and sends her flying as well, and she flies right over the side and out of the ring. That means, Aang won. But judging by this girl's attitude, she isn't going to be very pleased with that outcome. Aang goes running after her, and as I expect, she leaves in a huff, sealing up her exit behind her.

But since Aang beat her, he gets the belt and the prize money. Though Sokka seems far more excited about that than Aang. Our poor little airbender just seems sad. And I don't blame him; he just ruined his chance to get her to teach him earthbending.

* * *

After visiting the earthbending academy again, Aang comes back with news that he's gotten a lead. And when he drags me along as well, I'm horrified by what I see. It's a noble estate. Aang points at the gates. "That's the flying boar from my vision. Come on!"

I know that it's a bad idea to sneak into the estate, so when they go over the walls, I shake my head. "There is no way I'm breaking into a noble's estate. I'm going to wait out here with Appa while you three just waltz right into trouble, again."

Sokka shrugs. "Suit yourself." And then he drops down the other side of the wall with Aang and Katara.

Ten minutes later, they're back, and I smirk at Aang. "So, did you almost get caught? Or did that little earthbender find you first?"

"She found us." Aang looks a little disappointed by the obviously poor reception that he received.

I shake my head and smile. "You went about this the wrong way. Remember, you are the Avatar, the one who is going to save the world, blah, blah, blah. Which means, that you can just pay a visit to noble homes and they'll be thrilled about hosting someone as prestigious as the Avatar. So really, all you have to do is knock on the front door."

They all look at me like I'm nuts, then Aang thinks about it. "That's actually a good idea. How did you come up with that?"

I look at them flatly. "Because despite my family being exiled for the last century by the power-hungry Fire Lord Sozin, I still carry the blood of the royal family of the eastern islands of the Fire Nation. And with that, comes certain expectations and knowledge of social niceties. Not that I have a reason to use them much. Most people don't deserve having me waste those kinds of manners on them. Manners are a tool, nothing more. Now, shall we get going?"

Aang nods. "Through the front door it is."

And after going through the front this time, we're welcomed quite graciously into the Bei Fong family home by the servants. And once informed of our arrival, the master himself comes to greet us. The master of the house even serves us a meal.

When a servant brings a bowl of soup for the girl, Toph, her father disapproves. "Blow on it, it's too hot for her."

"Allow me." In a small display of airbending, Aang makes a tiny tornado that zooms to the bowl and cools the hot soup down to a more manageable temperature.

Toph's mother starts being a suck up immediately. "Avatar Aang, it's an honor to have you visit us."

"In your opinion, how much longer do you think the war will last?" Toph's father is a little more business-like in his conversation, which makes sense, since they're so rich.

I sit quietly and eat my food, not wanting to take part in any of the idle conversation. Though I eat with much more grace than Sokka, who just shovels the food into his mouth. In fact, since I'm actually putting in some effort, I have some of the best table manners in the room, and Toph's mother silently seems to notice.

"I'd like to defeat the Fire Lord by the end of summer, but I can't do that without finding an earthbending teacher first." Aang's tone manages to annoy Toph, no matter how hard she tries to hide it.

Her father chuckles. "Well, Master Yu is the finest teacher in the land. He's been teaching Toph since she was little."

And the table is relatively calm, until Aang starts dropping hints to Toph. "Then she must be a great earthbender! Probably good enough to teach someone else!" That earns him a few little knocks with some earthbending.

The teach shakes his head. "Toph is still learning the basics."

"Yes, and sadly, because of her blindness, I don't think she will ever become a true master." He has such little faith in his daughter. Despite my complication, I'm still an excellent firebender. Just because you have a challenge, doesn't mean that you can't be good at something.

Aang seems to think the same. "Oh, I'm sure she's better than you think she is." And this next silent earthbending attack shifts Aang's chair forward and sends his face right into his bowl of soup. And then, Aang sneezes violently, sending food flying, including some right into Toph's face.

So I put down my chopsticks and push my empty dishes away from me, speaking very pointedly. "I believe that I saw some very nice flowers in the garden. I think that I will go to see them now."

I get up from my seat and incline my head to Toph's father, and then I stride out of the room, accompanied by a guard. I'm sure that it's for my own protection, but having a guard around makes me feel weird. So I ignore him as I walk out into the garden and start looking at the flowerbeds and rose bushes. There is even a pond with floating water lilies. I love lilies; they're my favorite kind of flower. But I much prefer sunset orange lilies with six petals shaped like leaves.

I go back inside once the ruckus from dinner has calmed down. And the bedroom that they have set aside for us is nice, it has two large beds, so we can all sleep together. They must have picked this room for that reason, since we obviously are very close after traveling together for the last few months.

I lie down on my bed, in the room I share with Aang, and we say goodnight to Appa before closing the window. But surprisingly, Toph decides to pay us a visit. Aang freaks out, but she just leans against the doorframe. "Relax. Look, I'm sorry about dinner. Let's call a truce, okay?"

Aang relaxes and nods. "Okay."

Toph smiles a little. "Then come with me, I have something to talk to you about." And with Aang following her, she disappears off towards the gardens.

* * *

Suddenly, I get a terrible feeling and I jump up from my bed. "Aang and Toph are in trouble." And I sprint out towards the gardens.

I look around, trying to find out where they were, because since I haven't run into them, they must have been taken away. Then I hear Sokka over to my right. "Over here!"

I run over and I see Sokka pick up a scroll and hand it to Katara as Toph's parents and the earthbending teacher arrive in the garden. She reads it out loud. "If you want to see your daughter again, bring five hundred gold pieces to the arena. It's signed Xin Fu and The Boulder."

"I can't believe it." Sokka takes the scroll out of Katara's hands, then gets on his knees and worships the paper. "I have The Boulder's autograph."

Toph's father turns to the earthbending teacher. "Master Yu, I need you to help me get my daughter back."

Katara turns to Toph's father. "We're going with you."

"Poor Toph, she must be so scared." Toph's mother is weird. Her daughter is the one who is blind, and yet, she's the one who can't see. Irony at its finest.

So, acquiescing to the demands, Toph's parents put together the ransom and we head off with them to the Earth Rumble Six arena to go and get Aang and Toph back. Ever since we met her, it's been one problem after another. Which just proves that she belongs with us, not trapped in some stuffy manor.

We arrive at the arena and hand over the ransom, which convinces them to release Toph. But only Toph, since they keep Aang up in the air. Katara gets angry. "What about Aang?"

Xin Fu unrolls a wanted poster. 'I think the Fire Nation will pay a hefty price for the Avatar. Now, get out of my ring."

We prepare to fight to free Aang, but then, we're confronted by the earthbenders from the competition. Aang sees the predicament that we're in and he waves to us. "Go! I'll be okay."

Sokka and Katara do as he says and back away, but this doesn't sit well with me. And Katara has another idea. "Toph, there's too many of them. We need an earthbender. We need you!"

Toph's father immediately protests. "My daughter is blind. She is blind and tiny and helpless and fragile. She cannot help you."

But Toph, from what I hear, is not going to let her father rule her life. "Yes. I can."

Toph comes out to join us, and she stops the group of earthbenders from getting away by blocking their way with a spire of rock. I grin at her. "Nice of you to join us, Blind Bandit."

"So what should I call you? You were polite at dinner, but I'm guessing that's not how you really are." The grin on her face is bright and mischievous.

I shrug. "You can call me Ciara if you want. But maybe you'll think of something better once we wipe the floor with these guys."

Now, we turn to our opponent, and Toph is not pleased. "Let him go! I beat you all before, and I'll do it again!"

"The Boulder takes issue with that comment." And while The Boulder decides to feel insulted, the Big Bad hippo tosses Aang's cage to the ground and gets ready to fight.

Toph stops Sokka and Katara from charging into battle. "Wait. They're mine." Then she slides her feet across the ground and earthbends them all across the arena in one move. Then she walks into the dust cloud, where she's the only one who can see.

I smirk. "Well, now that the visibility is zero, she should have no problem dealing with them." I rush over to Aang's cage with Sokka and Katara. "Now we just need to get this thing open.

Sokka tries hammering on the cage with a rock, but that fails miserably. "Come on! Hit it harder!" Aang really wants out of that cage.

So, I get an idea. "Aang, I need you to bend as much air around yourself as possible. Make sure not to touch the metal. Okay?"

"Okay! But what are you doing?" He sounds a little worried now.

I shake my head. "Just stay still. The air is a precautionary measure, in case I screw up. Now everyone get back."

Katara and Sokka back away from the metal cage as I start concentrating. I let the power flow to my fingertips and I swirl my hands in a circle, dragging them slowly through the air. Golden lightning gathers around my fingers and I concentrate it to the point that it starts audibly crackling. Then, I point it at the cage and blow the lock off in one clean strike.

Aang hops out of the cage and stares at me. "I didn't know that you could make lightning!"

"Little known fact about firebenders, if we're strong enough, we can withstand lightning. And if we're strong enough, and skilled enough, we can make it." I grin happily. "And it just so happens that I fall into the category of being skilled enough to produce lightning. So be happy about that."

But since our help in the fight is unneeded, we all stay out of it and watch as Toph finishes knocking all of her opponents into a heap, then tosses them out of the arena. Then, she clears the dust, leaving only Xin Fu standing alone in the middle of the arena.

He throws a barrage of boulders at her, but Toph is unfazed, and she makes a tent of rock around herself, and then sends half of it flying at Xin Fu. And even the boulder he suddenly sends flying at her face with just his hand, she dodges easily, effortlessly, with an expression of what looks like boredom. And the fool goes flying, just like all the others.

And so, with this battle over, we return to Toph's home, where she stands in front of her parents to explain herself. "Dad, I know it's probably hard for you to see me this way, but the obedient little helpless blind girl you think I am, just isn't me. I love fighting, I love being an earthbender. And I'm really, really good at it. I know I've kept my life secret from you, but you were keeping me secret from the whole world. You were doing it to protect me, but I'm twelve years old and I've never had a real friend." And now she just looks sad. "So now that you see who I really am, I hope it doesn't change the way you feel about me."

Toph's father sounds sincere, at first. "Of course it doesn't change the way I feel about you Toph. It's made me realize something."

"It has?" Poor Toph sounds so hopeful. But I know exactly where this is going.

"Yes." And now his voice goes stern and cold. "I've let you have far too much freedom. From now on, you will be cared for and guarded twenty-four hours a day."

"But Dad!"

"We are doing this for your own good Toph." And despite the gentleness of her mother's tone, the words are cold and controlling and I hate the both of them already.

Toph's father points to the door and a servant approaches. "Please escort the Avatar and his friends out. They are no longer welcome here."

Aang looks back at Toph unhappily. "I'm sorry Toph."

"I'm sorry too. Goodbye, Aang."

* * *

So, we head off to a high point with Appa, so that we can take flight easily. But before we have the chance to leave, a little pattering of footsteps stops me in my tracks. "No way, is that-?"

I turn around and we all see Toph running up to Appa, dressed in traveling clothes, with a bag over her shoulder. Aang is more surprised than me. "Toph! What are you doing here?"

"My dad changed his mind. He said I was free to travel the world."

Sokka looks at Katara, then back at Toph. "Well, we better get out of here, before your dad changes his mind again."

"Good idea."

Aang sounds so happy now. "You're going to be a great teacher Toph."

"Speaking of which, I want to show you something." Toph motions to Aang, so he jumps down from Appa's head. And when he touches down, she immediately hits him with some earthbending and slams him into a tree. Then she points up to Sokka. "Now we're even, Oh and I'll take the belt back."

Sokka, the idiot, throws the belt down to her and hits her right on the head with it. I roll my eyes and grab Toph's hand and drag her to her feet. "Sorry about that, Sokka doesn't think much before he does things."

Toph shakes her hand out. "You have warm hands."

That comment surprises me. "Warm hands? Well, I suppose since you're going to be traveling with us, there's no point in hiding it. I'm a firebender. And now, with you along, we have one airbender, a waterbender, an earthbender, a firebender, and a non-bender who specializes in weapons. Pretty well-rounded if you ask me."

Toph elbows me, hard, but it doesn't hurt much. "I think I'm going to like you Miss Firebender. Now let's hurry."

I laugh a bit then pick Toph up and toss her to Sokka. Then I jump up into the saddle as well. "Alright then. Toph, this is your first official flight as a member of our family. If you feel like throwing up, just lean over the side of the saddle and try not to fall. And if you do fall off, I'm sure that Aang will catch you."

"Got it." And she sits down firmly as Aang gets on Appa's head and we take off into the night sky.


	24. The Chase

Adding Toph to the group definitely makes things interesting over the next week. She relishes every new experience, and loves her new freedom. And as soon as we touch down, I jump off of Appa and avoid landing in any of his fur. "Alright, I'm off. I'll be back in a little while with some food."

"Remember to find me something that isn't meat!" Aang pokes his head over the side of Appa's saddle and grimaces. "I'm a vegetarian, remember."

"I'll see what I can do." I wave my hand as I walk off with my knife in my hand.

Once I the forest, I go about tracking down something to eat. I find some berries along the way for Aang, but then, I find my prize. Deer tracks, fresh. So I follow them, being as silent as possible in the quiet forest, and I spot my prey. It's a nice young male deer, and it looks nice, not too fatty, but with plenty of meat.

With one very well aimed knife, I take the deer down in an instant, hitting it right in the neck with my knife. I jump down from my vantage point in the tree and kneel next to the deer. I empty it of blood in a matter of minutes, which makes it quite a bit lighter to carry. Years of training, and carrying my own food around has made me strong enough to carry a small deer, slowly, but steadily. I also pick up a large armful of dry wood to use for making a campfire. Then, I trek for fifteen minutes back to the campsite, and I toss the deer on the ground in front of Sokka. "Well, I hope that this is enough food for us."

Sokka's mouth starts to water. "Yeah, that's enough food." And with his approval on the food, I toss the bag of berries to Aang.

So I sit down and quickly put together the campfire in a ring of rock. I light it and set up a spit for cooking the meat, then, I sit down and skin the deer. It's bloody work, and I have to bury all of the organs and unusable portions. Then, I spear the chopped up pieces of meat and set them to roast over the fire on a makeshift spit, downwind of Aang, out of respect for his vegetarianism.

Over next to a bunch of rocks, Toph is just lounging, and that kind of gets on Katara's nerves. So she gets up and approaches Toph. "So Toph, usually, when setting up camp, we try to divide up the work."

"Hey, don't worry about me, I'm good to go." Toph has a point, but she's also clearly missing the point.

"Well, actually, what I'm trying to say is some of us might fetch water, while someone else might set up the fire pit for Ciara, or put up the tent. And of course, Ciara usually goes out to hunt for our food, which can last us several days, depending on what she manages to catch. And even Momo does his fair share."

But Toph is completely uninterested. "Katara, I'm fine, I can carry my own weight. I don't need a fire, I've already collected my own food, and look!" she quickly earthbends herself a tent. "My tent's all set up."

Now, Katara is starting to show her irritation. "Well, that's great for you, but we still need to finish-"

"I don't understand! What's the problem here?" Toph, I'm not sure if she's being belligerent or if she's just that clueless. But Katara ends the conversation and just leaves Toph alone.

I watch over the meat as it cooks, and what Sokka, Katara and I don't eat tonight, I cook until it dries and turn it into jerky. That way, we can keep it longer and eat it on the go. As the one in charge of food and making sure we all stay healthy, I always like to be prepared, especially for an unexpected situation where I might not be able to find any animals to hunt.

So, once all of the food is cooked and packed away, and everyone else is asleep, I finally bundle up in Appa's saddle and drift off to sleep myself. But that doesn't last long as Toph wakes us all up in the middle of the night. "There's something coming towards us!"

Instantly, everyone is awake, and Aang is worried. "What is it?"

Toph puts her hand to the ground. "It feels like an avalanche. But, also not an avalanche.

"Your powers of perception are frightening." Sokka sounds tired and irritated, not that I blame him.

Finally, Katara decides to be the voice of reason and get to the point. "Should we leave?"

"Better safe than sorry." Aang agrees and we quickly get our camp packed up.

As we fly away, we see something off in the distance, and it's throwing up a huge dust cloud, and is most definitely coming towards us. So we fly for a while, getting up higher to hopefully stay away from whatever that was.

I go about falling asleep in the saddle, as I've done many times before. But Katara and Toph's stupid argument about helping or not helping, and carrying your own weight, keeps me awake. And when I do finally fall asleep, Toph wakes us all up, again, and we pack up, again, and get moving, again. Whatever, whoever, this is, is annoyingly persistent.

So, to make sure that we lose whoever is following us, Aang flies us right up a mountain. And this time, instead of setting up camp, we just lie down and try to go to sleep. But with Katara and Toph arguing, again, no one can sleep.

Finally, I step in. "Alright, everyone needs to shut up, stuff the fighting, and go to sleep. Whoever is chasing us is probably not going to give up just because we went up a mountain. This bought us time, but not much, so get as much sleep as you can before we have to get moving again. I know what happens when you go too long without sleep, and it usually ends with someone dead." I turn over and away from the rest of them, and listen as they argue about Sokka's hair.

Then, Momo starts freaking out, and I roll my eyes. "Looks like I was wrong, that bought us no time."

"There's no way they should have tracked us!" Aang can't believe this, but this is Fire Nation persistence. They'll chase something until it kills them.

"I can feel it with my own two feet!" and with Toph confirming it, all we can do is just get flying again.

But, Aang wants to confront them, only to come face to face with three girls on mongoose lizards. Turns out, they're the ones from Omashu. So, since we outnumber them, we make a stand. Toph hurls boulders at them, but misses every time. So, we make a retreat and Toph tries to slow them down while the five of us climb on Appa and take off.

One of them is fond of shooting lightning at us, so I shoot some right back and block hers, as well as hitting the ground right next to her. I consider it to be a warning shot, but she's probably not going to be intimidated by something like that.

Once in the air, we're all feeling tired and nervous, and Katara doesn't help to put down my stress levels. "I can't believe those girls followed us all the way from Omashu."

"I still think we could have taken them." And Toph is resentful, great.

"Are you kidding me? The crazy blue firebending and the flying daggers are bad enough, but last time we saw them, one of those girls did something that took my bending away. That's scary."

"Oh no, the sun is rising." And Sokka's whining continues.

So, I put my foot down. "Alright, all of you, listen up."

"Who put you in charge, Miss Firebender?"

I ignore Toph's jibe and get to my point. "Instead of wasting energy fighting with each other, we need to figure out exactly how they're tracking us. Once we do that, we can figure out how to stop it, and then, we can lose them, and get some sleep. Until then, we need to stay calm, collected and focused. Insulting each other, while entertaining, I'm sure, is pointless. Because if we don't hurry and figure out how to lose them, we're dead." Then I curl up in one corner of the saddle. "In any case, I'm going to sleep. If that girl keeps shooting off lightning, I'm the one who's going to have to deal with it. And I won't be able to do that if I'm tired. So, I'm going to sleep." And that's when I cover my head with the coat I was given in the North Pole, and I fall fast asleep.

* * *

I wake up suddenly when I find myself falling through the air, and Appa and the others falling below me. It looks like Appa fell asleep, so I do something desperate. I shoot a little bit of lightning a ways in front of Appa's face, and that wakes him right up.

Because he wakes up so suddenly and changes the direction of his flying, I slam hard into the saddle, and just in time for Aang to yell at me. "Why did you shoot lightning at Appa?"

I groan and massage my head. "I shot lightning in front of him to wake him up. If I hadn't we would all be dead, including Appa. In the end, he wasn't hurt, just startled, and that's better than being dead. Besides, I have better aim than you think, even when I'm tired."

"Well you still could have hurt Appa!" Aang yells it at me at the top of his lungs.

Appa starts going lower and lower, and he breaks the tops off a bunch of trees as we fall. I shake my head and hold on tight. "I made a snap decision, and it was the right one. Let's leave it at that and focus on the fact that we're still in danger."

Finally, we hit the ground, right next to a river. Aang slides off Appa's head tiredly. "Appa's exhausted."

And not fifteen seconds after getting out of the saddle, Katara and Toph are already at it, Katara blames Toph for everything that's happening, and when Aang gets involved to try and calm it, Toph blames Appa for shedding and leaving a trail to follow, and Aang ends up yelling as well. And he yells so much that Toph actually grabs her stuff and leaves. Aang drove off his earthbending teacher.

But, first things first, since Toph won't get far on her own, Aang and Katara use the river to thoroughly wash Appa and get all of the loose fur off him. We have to leave most of our stuff behind, and we'll come back for it later once we've lost the girls chasing us. But since my bag is light, I bring it with us. It has the dried meat, and a few other little essentials in it that are useful in a pinch, as well as what Pakku gave me a couple of months ago.

We split up, and I go with Aang, using my firebending to propel me through the air. I've figured out a very efficient way of flying, and it doesn't tire me out the way it would other firebenders. So, Aang and I leave the trail, leading to an abandoned village. And once we're done, we sit down, and I take a short nap to regain some energy.

But Aang nudges me awake when one of the girls arrives, so I stand up and stand back, since Aang probably wants to talk with her first. And like I expected, he does just that. "All right, you've caught up with me. Now, who are you and what do you want?"

The girl raises an eyebrow. "You mean you haven't guessed? You don't see the family resemblance? Here's a hint." She covers her left eye with her hand and her voice goes a bit lower, and raspy. "I must find the Avatar to restore my honor." But neither of us laughs, which she was obviously expecting, so she lowers her hand. "It's okay, you can laugh. It's funny."

But Aang is unimpressed and unamused. "So, what now?"

"Now?" The girl looks surprised. "Now, it's over. You're tired and you have no place to go. You can run, but I'll catch you." Then she turns to me. "And you, you must be here because you're the one who deflected my lightning. I've never seen gold lightning before; I didn't think a color like that existed."

I glare at her. "There's a lot that you don't know, especially when it comes to me. And just so you know, we're not running. We led you here."

The girl looks arrogant and cocky now. "Do you really want to fight me?"

Then, a figure appears from an alley, jumping off an ostrich horse. Then he throws his hat aside and my mouth drops. "Yes, I really do."

"Zuko." And I realize that Aang said his name at the same time that I did. I slap my forehead. "Great, now it's a party."

The girl looks at Zuko calmly, but with a hint of a smirk on her face. "I was wondering when you'd show up, Zuzu."

I cover my mouth to suppress my laughter, and Aang tries to do the same, though lets out a snort of laughter. "Zuzu?" I just double over, clutching my stomach. "That has got to be the funniest nickname ever."

"Back off Azula, he's mine!" And now, thanks to Zuko, we have a name to put with this new face.

But, taking a moment to take in Zuko's appearance, I notice several things. First, he's wearing Earth Kingdom clothing, and it's pretty tattered. He looks like he's been doing a lot of traveling lately. And then there's his hair. He's cut off his ponytail and let the rest of his hair grow out. It's still short, but I think it looks better than just the ponytail. And third, he looks thinner, probably from traveling, and not having a chef to prepare him three gourmet meals a day.

Zuko points one hand at Azula, the other at Aang, prepared to attack either one. And Azula isn't stepping down either. "I'm not going anywhere."

I step in front of Aang. "Stay behind me, and when you see a chance, get some distance." Then I look at Zuko and Azula. "Why don't we make this a flames only party for now?" I take up a battle-ready stance, and I notice that all three of us are positioned very differently. Zuko's stance is the most solid, Azula's is the most tree-like, and mine is the most like a dancer. This is going to be interesting.

Zuko keeps flicking his eyes between me and his sister, wondering which one of us is going to attack him first. But that should be a given. Azula is going to attack first, because I don't usually make the first strike.

And Azula does make the first strike, shooting a blast of blue fire at her brother and knocking him into a building, despite the flame shield he makes to deflect the blast. I push Aang down the road and he uses his glider to take off.

Azula makes a huge plume of fire and brings it down on Aang's head. Or she would, but I shoot a huge plume of golden fire to counter it, and Aang gets away unscathed. But Azula takes my moment of distraction to run around me and go for Aang, running across rooftops to close the distance quickly.

And once Zuko catches up to them, I leap into the three-way battle, turning it into a four way dance of orange fire, blue fire, gold fire, and gusts of wind. Everyone is firing at everyone, except for me and Aang, who play on the same team.

So, Aang and I lead Azula off into a trap, though Aang carefully throws me to the far wall so that I'm safe from the fall, and the princess nearly falls for it, and nearly falls down a couple of floors as well. And Zuko, the fool chases after us as well, and he does fall for it, landing on the ground with a hard thump. I actually pity him for landing so hard.

Azula throws fire at us, so Aang runs around and knocks her down to the ground, and I leap down, landing deftly on my feet. Azula fires a blast after Aang before knocking her brother through a wall and turning on me. But in a contained space, my fire blasts outwards so hard that she gets thrown right out of the building.

I lose sight of her and run right into Zuko on my way out of the burning building. I take up a ready stance, but he doesn't shoot fire at me. In fact, he hasn't really shot any fire at me this whole time. Then I hear Aang exclaim with happiness. "Katara!" And when Katara runs off with Azula in pursuit, Sokka appears as well and swings his machete at Azula, who has to duck and ends up being pursued by Sokka instead of pursuing Katara. I run after them, eager to rejoin my friends.

So, with four of us here, I join them in cornering Azula. And surprisingly, I notice that Iroh is here as well. And as we start launching attacks at Azula, Toph appears as well and ruins the princess' footing with her earthbending. "I thought you guys could use a little help."

And all seven of us, Zuko and Iroh included, advance on Azula, cornering her quite effectively. She backs up into a corner and looks around. "Well, look at this. Enemies and traitors, all working together. I'm done." She raises her hands in a gesture of surrender. "I know when I'm beaten. You got me. A princess surrenders with honor."

And while the rest of us are still on guard, Iroh loses focus. And Azula takes advantage of that an instant before I do. My eyes widen in alarm, and then narrow in focus. "No!" She shoots a bolt of blue fire at Iroh so fast that the lightning that leaves my fingertips only stops most of her attack, not all of it.

Zuko cries out in alarm, and then he, Aang, Katara and Toph all bend their respective elements at Azula. The resulting explosion creates a huge cloud of smoke and dust that allow Azula to escape. But over with Iroh, Zuko is clearly distraught. He looks at us angrily. "Get away from us!"

Katara tries to placate Zuko with a gentle voice. "Zuko, I can help."

"Leave!" Zuko creates a huge arc of fire that forces us to draw back. So, since he clearly wants us gone, we oblige him.

We find Appa and since we all need our sleep, we fly to the top of a mountain and crash there. And this time, Azula and her two friends don't come crashing into our camp. In fact, they don't make any more nightly appearances at all. And we can finally sleep soundly.


	25. Bitter Work

And after over a week of traveling together, Toph finally gets started on Aang's earthbending training. Personally, I'm not big on watching Aang heft boulders around, or watching Toph throw boulders at him, so I find a nice open space for me to do some very complicated stretches, they are the prelude to a very dance-like firebending form that my family has passed down for hundreds of years.

Thankfully, since I rise with the sun, I'm the only one that Aang and Toph don't wake up with their early morning exuberance, I'm up before they are. And as Aang's training progresses, I find myself making up new steps to my firebending dance, to account for how Zuko and Azula fight. Those two are going to be our biggest problems going forward, at least, if I trust my instincts. And frankly, I trust my instincts more than I trust Sokka's. I still remember all of the issues from when we ran into Jet. And for now, I refuse to be left behind in perfecting my bending.

Of course, with his earthbending training progressing badly, Aang gets back to mastering waterbending, which he still hasn't completed. And as for me, I find myself growing well. And with visualization, I can effectively make up moves to counter Azula and Zuko.

Toph comes to find me at sundown and she sits down against my back. "Twinkle Toes has the wrong attitude for an earthbender. Teaching him is like trying to move a rock without earthbending. It's so frustrating. He's just not an earthbender!"

"Well, to be fair, he's been trained as an airbender, so this is probably pretty opposite to what he's used to." But as I consider the problem, I stop meditating. I lean against Toph, creating a pleasant pressure between our backs. "So anyway, why are you telling me instead of Katara? She's teaching Aang as well. Wouldn't it be better to discuss this with another of his teachers?"

Toph throws up her hands. "Because Katara is like Aang. She tries to mediate things and stay calm." Then she laughs a bit. "Well, you do too, but it's more in the group leader or group advisor kind of way. Whenever you want our attention urgently, you make us know it. You don't take crap from any of us if there's something bad going on. You don't think like any one kind of bender, but you act a bit like an airbender, your emotions are steady, but unmovable like an earthbender, and when you get mad, your emotions blaze like a firebender, but when you want to mediate a situation, you become adaptable and fluid like a waterbender. I just don't get how you can be everything and not explode."

I laugh a little and look at the sky. "That's because in order to survive, I have to hunt, and for that, I need the patience of a waterbender. To keep moving when everything seems hopeless, I need the steady persistence of an earthbender. Because of my past, I value freedom highly like an airbender. But most of all, though I have a habit of suppressing it all, I have the passionate, determined and hot-tempered personality of a firebender, I am one after all. I take from everything, but only because it just happened. It wasn't on purpose, none of it is. It just…happened."

"Yeah, that makes sense, kind of. So, how do I get Aang to understand the whole steady and strong thing? He's just too airy. Katara's approach didn't work well, I'm not good with positive reinforcement."

"Hmm…" I give it a little thought. "Well, you need to make him want to butt heads with you. You need to make him obstinate and stubborn. I can do stubborn pretty well when I'm mad, so I know what that's like. If I were trying to make him stubborn, I would tell him that he gives up too easily. Because no matter how powerful or talented you are, there are just some things that you need to stubbornly stick out like your life depends on it. Make him mad at you, make him stand against you; give him something to push against. Because people do their best work when they have a rival or a challenge facing them. It inspires them to reach beyond their limits."

"Yeah, that sounds like it'll work. Thanks Miss Firebender." Toph jumps to her feet and I smile. "By the way, why hasn't Twinkletoes learned firebending yet? Couldn't you teach him how to do it?"

I look away from her and off into the distance. "Aang isn't ready to learn firebending. He's undisciplined and too unfocused. That's why he failed the first time. And now, he doesn't want to learn. So I'm not going to force him to learn if he doesn't want to."

"Hm…you're right, he is a little undisciplined. I can see why you wouldn't want to teach him. Fire's pretty dangerous." She walks away humming to herself. "Now…how to get Twinkletoes to be as stubborn as a rock…"

I snicker as she walks off, and I contemplate the idea of teaching Aang. I'm really ill-suited to be teaching him, at least at his current level. To do what I do takes incredible discipline, developed over time alongside the skills themselves. They're ancient forms and dances that have been passed down through my family over centuries. And they've been refines to the point of perfection.

With the afternoon growing old, I get back to work, surrounding myself with golden fire, and swirling it around me as I dance. My feet slide across the ground like water, smooth and even. And while I land lightly, I jump with enough power to fly through the air like a bird. Fly like the phoenix that my ancestors believed gave them this gift. The creature whose power I now hold.

I get back to camp late and I see that Aang has finally gotten the hang of basic earthbending. And he's so happy about it that I can't help but giggle quietly to myself. He looks so cute when he's excited. Kind of like the hyperactive brother I never had.

Days pass, and while at first, Aang was struggling with his training, he's slowly improving, despite the opposite element block. It's actually pretty admirable from where I'm standing. Considering his age and his upbringing, and leaving out the whole Avatar aptitude for all the elements, his block is only to be expected. It's like trying to teach a creature of the land to fly, or in this case, a creature of the sky to walk.

And Toph seems to be acting on my advice, and she picks a fight with Aang over his glider staff. At first, he tolerates her abuse of his staff. But eventually, it becomes too much, and I can hear his exclamations from a couple hundred meters away. They're indistinct, but still, he's got some pipes on him. And that makes me smirk a little. "Looks like our little airbender is getting himself grounded. Good…" I laugh quietly, before returning to my complex dance movements.


	26. The Library

But we have to hit the road again soon, and we head back north a bit, and we run into the driest landscape I've ever seen. And as a firebender, I'm alright with dry, but this is bad, even for me. And there is a whole lot of sand.

But Aang insists on sitting down, which perplexes Sokka. "What's out here?"

Toph puts her hand on the ground and looks surprised. "A lot actually. There's hundreds of little-"

"Shhh!" Aang puts his finger to his lips. "I know you can see underground, but don't ruin the surprise. Just watch." Aang takes out a flute and puts it to his lips. He blows a note and a groundhog pops out of the ground and mimics the note perfectly. "Hahaha yeah!" He blows another note and another one pops out of the ground and sings. "I'm putting an orchestra together."

"Orchestra, huh? Well la dee da!" And as if to mock Sokka, three groundhogs pop out of the ground and mimic him. And that's when Momo jumps into one of the holes out of curiosity.

Aang keeps playing random notes, getting the groundhogs to pop out of the ground, until Sokka sticks a finger into the flute. "This is great and all, but don't we have more important things to worry about? We should be making plans."

"We did make plans." Toph points out helpfully. "We're all picking mini vacations."

"There's no time for vacations."

Aang looks a bit upset. "I'm learning the elements as fast as I can. I practice hard every day with Toph and Katara. I've been training my arrow off."

"Yeah, what's wrong with having a little fun in our down time?" Katara stick up for Aang, of course.

Sokka points at me. "Ciara, what about you? You think that this is a waste of time, right?"

I shrug. "I don't care really, I mean, we're still training, and we can train on the go. And actually, vacations are fine, since building up too much stress is bad for your body. Besides, we've been on the move since the four of us left the South Pole, so it's not really much different from what we've been doing. This whole trip is like a big vacation to me."

Sokka looks pissed, and then turns back to Aang. "Even if you do master all of the elements, then what? It's not like we have a map of the Fire Nation. And Ciara's never been there, apart from our trip to Roku's temple. Should we just head west until we reach the Fire Lord's house?" Sokka knocks on an invisible door. "Knock, knock. Hello, Fire Lord? Anybody home? I don't think so. We need some intelligence if we're going to win this war."

Aang just goes back to playing his flute, so I lie down in Appa's saddle and watch the sky while Katara picks our next destination for our slew of mini vacations. "How about the Misty Palms Oasis? That sounds refreshing."

"Oh yeah, I've been there. It's a pristine natural ice spring. And I usually don't use the word pristine. It's one of nature's wonders." Aang is all for this trip, looks like it'll be a throwback to some nostalgic memories.

But when we get there, it turns out that the oasis is not the pristine natural preserve that it used to be when Aang used to come here. "Must've changed ownership since I was last here." He laughs a little sheepishly, but since it's swelteringly hot outside, we head inside the bar.

And the bar inside is even worse, cooler, but worse, there are creepy guys standing outside, and the inside is drab and dreary. But, seeing the fruit drinks at the bar, Sokka gets excited. "I don't see anything wrong with having one of those fruity beverages while we plan our stragegy." Sokka rushes up to the bar. "Excuse me."

Aang gets one spilled all over him by a scholarly type. But Aang just smiles. "No worries, I clean up easy." And he airbends all of the juice off his clothes.

The scholar takes an interest in him immediately. "You're a living relic."

"Thanks, I try."

"An air Nomad, right in front of me." He goes ahead and introduces himself to Aang. "Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University." He looks carefully at Aang's tattoos. "Tell me, which of the air temples do you hail from?"

"The Southern Temple."

The professor goes about taking measurements of Aang's head. "Oh, splendid! Now tell me, what was the primary agricultural product of your people?"

Aang suddenly gets nervous. "Uh, are fruit pies and agricultural product?"

"Oh, truly fascinating. That is one for the journal." He gets a journal out quickly and starts scribbling notes in it.

Sokka, on the other hand, sees this as an opportunity. "So Professor, you're obviously a well-traveled guy. Do you have a more current map? Ours is a little dated."

"Certainly." And the professor removes a map from one of his bags, allowing Sokka to spread it out on a table to have a look at it.

But Sokka is soon disappointed. "What, no Fire Nation? Doesn't anybody have a good map of that place?"

Katara gets interested and looks at the map. "You've made a lot of trips into the desert."

"All in vain, I'm afraid. I've found lost civilizations all over the Earth Kingdom. But I have not managed to find the crown jewel. Wan Shi Tong's library."

Toph can't believe her ears. "You spent years walking through the desert to find some guy's library?"

"This library is more valuable than gold, little lady. It is said to contain a vast collection of knowledge, and knowledge, is priceless."

Toph rolls her eyes. "Hmm, sounds like good times."

And that gets the professor excited. "Oh, it is. According to legend, it was built by the great Knowledge Spirit, Wan Shi Tong, with the help of his foxy knowledge seekers."

Sokka gets a weird grin on his face. "Oh, so this spirit has attractive assistants, huh?"

Katara puts a hand over her brother's moth to stop him from talking. "I think he means that they look like actual foxes, Sokka."

"You're both right. Handsome little creatures." He takes out a book to show them. "Wan Shi Tong and his knowledge seekers collected books from all over the world, and put them on display for mankind to read, so that we might better ourselves."

Sokka's brain is already cooking up a plan. "If this place has book from all over the world, do you think they've got info on the Fire Nation? A map, maybe?"

"I wouldn't know. But if such a thing exists, it's in Wan Shi Tong's library." That assertion sounds a little too good to be true, in my opinion. But hey, he's a professor, so if anyone would know, it's him.

Sokka grins. "Then it's settled. Aang, I do believe it's my turn. I'd like to spend my vacation at the library!" He points his finger dramatically, obviously trying to get his point across that he really wants to go, and right now.

Toph, however, is feeling a little left out. "Uh, hye, what about me? When do I get to pick?"

"You gotta work here a little longer before you qualify for vacation time." I smack Sokka in the head for being so mean to Toph.

"Of course, there's the matter of finding it. I've made several trips into the Si Wong Desert and almost died each time." The professor is now a little dejected. "I'm afraid that desert's impossible to cross."

Sokka's grin widens. "Professor, would you like to see our sky bison?"

"A sky bison!? You actually have one?" the professor immediately perks up upon hearing of our lovable mode of transportation.

We leave the bar and shoo some sandbenders away from Appa, since they've taken a little too much of an interest in him. And once the sandbenders are gone, we all load up into Appa's saddle and go sailing across the desert. Though I have to pull the professor up, since he insists on trying to converse with Appa.

* * *

But we sail across the desert for hours, looking for this elusive library, and all we manage to find is a lot of sand. I sigh and lay my head down on my arms. "You know, I may bend fire, but I don't like the desert heat, it's dry and sand gets everywhere. And I mean everywhere!"

Sokka grumbles at me. "Quit complaining, you can have your vacation turn next." I roll my eyes and roll over onto my side, lookind over the back side of the saddle.

But we keep searching from the air, and Toph points out into the distance. "There it is!" I raise an eyebrow at her, since I'm prettu sure she's completely blind. But everyone else believes her and takes a look, only to be disappointed. "That's what it will sound like when one of you spots it." She waves her hand over her face to remind everyone that she can't see a thing right now.

But as we continue to fly, Sokka spots something. "Down there, what's that?" and we go down and land next to it. It's a tower in the middle of nowhere, but the foundation looks strange, especially since a tower like this should have shifted in the sand and fallen over by now.

But, as Katara starts doubting that this could be it, a fox carrying a scroll approaches, then it climbs up the side of the tower and enters the building. I take a look at the drawing and my eyes widen. "Hey guys. I think this is the top spire of the building."

Sokka's eyes go wide. "It's completely buried."

The professor freaks out. "The library is buried! My life's ambition is now full of sand." Then he takes out a shovel. "Well, time to start excavating."

Toph approaches the tower and puts her hand on it. "Actually, that won't be necessary. The inside seems to be completely intact. And it's huge."

"That fox thingy went in through a window. I say we climb up there and give it a look." Sokka is obviously eager to get going.

But Toph crosses her arms. "I say, you guys go ahead without me."

Katara is confused. "You got something against libraries?"

"I've held books before. And I gotta tell you, they don't exactly do it for me." Toph doesn't seem to like hearing about things that require you to see. So I make a mental note of that.

Sokka looks to me. "You coming?"

I shake my head. "No way. I hate being underground, plus, that place gives me the creeps." Sokka shrugs, and goes over to the base of the tower to join Aang, Katara and the professor.

The three of us opt to stay outside and keep watch. And I watch carefully as the rest of them climb up a rope attached to Sokka's boomerang and go in through the window. If one of them falls, I want to make sure that they don't end up too badly hurt. Plus, I figure that Toph could use some company. Some company that can actually speak.

After a little bit of silence, Toph tries talking to Appa. "So…you like…flying? Of course, I'm more comfortable on the ground where I can see. Well, I don't see the way you do. I feel the vibrations in the ground with my feet. But this sand is so loose and shifty, it makes everything look fuzzy. Not that there's anything wrong with fuzzy." She pats Appa affectionately.

Then she turns to me. "So how did a firebender end up traveling with the Avatar? Seems to me that most firebenders are trying to kill us."

I sigh, since she's the only one who doesn't know. "Well, I've been on the run for about ten years. But then, when I was traveling through the Earth Kingdom about four months ago, Zuko captured me and took me to his ship. He tried getting information out of me, but I escaped by jumping over the side of his ship. He thought that I had died, until he saw me with Aang in the South Pole. I was part of the rescue team, along with Sokka and Katara after the two of them found Aang in an iceberg. And since I had nowhere to go, I ended up coming along with them."

"Did they know that you were a firebender?"

I shake my head. "They only found out after we'd been traveling together for a couple of weeks. And man, Sokka hated me after that. We were freeing some earthbenders from the Fire Nation, and I had to protect everyone, so I blasted the prison warden with gold fire, much stronger than normal fire, and unique to my family. And long story short, I continued to travel with Aang, Katara and Sokka as their firebender. I'm here to deflect fireballs, as Aang put it."

"Wow, that's useful." Toph smiles, obviously happy with how I'm being so candid. "So why is it that you're different from other firebenders?"

"Because I'm an outcast. I'm someone that threatens the regime. My existence is dangerous to them, and that's why my family is dead and my life has been constant running and lots of battles. It's also why I have such good hunting and survival skills, because I've had to fend for myself and keep as hidden as possible since I was six years old." Thinking about my family makes me a little sad. "Those circumstances make me different. But I like to think it's just because I'm different too."

"Wow, that's rough. No wonder you turned out this way. You're one tough cookie, I'll give you that." She pats me hard on the back, reminding me that she's a earthbender. The spot stings for a little while afterwards.

Then, a rumbling echoes under our feet and I panic. "What's going on?"

Toph touches the ground, and she panics as well. "The library is sinking!" She finds her feet, stands her ground next to the tower, and then plunges her hands into the stone. "I'll hold it up and give them time to get out!"

But that's not the last of our trouble, because sandbenders approach from the west. "Dammit, sandbenders! Toph, you focus on the library, I'll deal with them!"

"Be careful Fire-Eyes!"

I smirk at the new nickname she's given me. She must be thinking that my eyes reflect my fire, and that's why she called me that. So, I refuse to disappoint her. I leap at the sandbenders as they try to capture Appa. I swirl fire around me and shoot it at them, forcing them to dodge my blasts and get away from Appa.

But this terrain does not work to my advantage, and despite the heat and full glare of the sun, when they surround me, I'm in big trouble. And the shifting sand makes it hard to get any traction, and I find myself stumbling around, tripping over my own feet.

They start bending the sand all around me, creating a huge twister of it. I try blasting my way out, but it just heats up the sand and makes it unbearably hot and dry. I feel like I'm suffocating, and without air, my fire quickly goes out.

"Ciara! Are you okay!? Ciara!"

But I can't speak, I can barely breathe as the tornado closes in around me. I fall to my knees and the world goes the color of sand, then white, then nothing but darkness. It means that I failed. The disadvantage of the terrain was too much for me, and now, I don't even know what's happened.


	27. The Way to Ba Sing Se

I wake up back in the oasis. I'm bound and gagged. I struggle against my bonds as I realise that I'm back in the bar. If only someone could cause a scene for me, I could firebend my way out of these ropes and escape.

Then, I see something astonishing. Iroh and Zuko are both here, sitting down at a table. My eyes flick to Iroh, and I stare at him with a glazed expression. Anyone who looks at me would think that I'm just staring into space. But when he looks around, he sees me and his gaze sharpens for an instant.

 _Well, knowing those two, they're not going to be here long without causing some kind of chaos, so all I have to do is wait until I have a chance to escape._ I close my eyes and breathe in, then out, calming myself into an analytical state. Then I open my eyes and start looking for even the tiniest details.

Then, Iroh glances over at a pai sho table, and he walks over to play. The problem is that Xin Fu and Master Yu are here as well; looking for Toph. I should have known that her father would send people to retrieve her. I just didn't expect it to be these two.

Iroh starts playing his pai sho game and it looks like the two of them are making some kind of pattern, but I can't see it from here. Iroh spares me another glance, and then whispers something to the other player. And then, the interesting part begins.

Xin Fu approaches the table. "It's over. You two fugitives are coming with me!"

And now, the scene begins. The other player puts on a good performance. Fake, to my eyes, but still convincing to all of the idiots in the room. "I knew it! You two are wanted criminals with a giant bounty on your heads!" then the old man turns to the bounty hunters. "You think you're going to capture them and collect all that gold?"

That gets the attention of every bad person in this place. And of course, that just makes a brawl go down. So I take my chance, now that my captors aren't looking, to burn through the ropes around me and rip off my gag. I slip around the edge of the room and make a silent break for the door, leaving the room behind me in utter chaos.

Right when I think I'm free, a hand grabs my wrist. I look over and see that it's Iroh. He smiles at me. "Come now little one, we're going to a safe place." And because of his very firm grip on my wrist, I have no choice but to go along.

The other old man leads us into a house, well more like a greenhouse, because of all the plants inside. The old man closes the door behind us, and then bows to Iroh. "It is an honor to welcome such a high-ranking member of the Order of the White Lotus. Being a grandmaster, you must know so many secrets." Then he turns to me. "Although, this girl intrigues me. Why were you so insistent on bringing her here?"

Iroh smiles gently at me. "She is Prince Raikon's little girl. I couldn't just leave her tied up in a corner by bounty hunters."

"I see, so she is the Rising Sun that I've heard about. I was told that they had all perished ten years ago." The old man looks at me curiously. "She certainly looks like her father, she has his piercing gaze, and the set of her mouth is nearly identical to his."

I huff impatiently. "I swear, you old guys know more about my own family than I do. What's with that?" then I turn to Iroh. "And how do you even know about me in the first place? How long have you known?"

"Hmm…" He ponders my questions for a moment. "Well, I first recognized you when Zuko brought you onto the ship to interrogate you. I urged him to be gentle with you, since you were a girl, but there was no need, since you escaped quite easily. But I knew who you were as soon as I saw you. You look very much like your father, but you have your mother's beauty. Of course, your ability to wield golden fire, the Flame of the Rising Sun, was confirmation of my suspicions. As for how I knew about you, that's because your father was once part of this order, your grandfather as well, many members of your family have been part of the White Lotus. So of course, Raikon would speak of the little girl he was so proud of. And he was proud of you, very proud."

I blink to contain the tears that threaten to spill down my cheeks. "So that's how you knew. Is that how so many old men seem to be able to recognize me on sight?"

Iroh nods. "There are many people who would recognize you. Your features are not so easily hidden from those who know the truth."

Zuko looks from me to his uncle. "What truth? What are you two talking about?"

I look away from Zuko, so Iroh sighs. "It is not my story to tell. I was not there. Princess Ciara is the best person to ask. But if you do ask, be gentle, it is not a pleasant topic."

But when the old man starts walking to the back of the shop, Iroh follows him, and Zuko does as well. "Now that you've played pai sho, are you going to do some flower arranging, or is someone in this club gonna offer some real help?"

They reach the back door and Iroh turns to his friend. "You must forgive my nephew, he is not an initiate, and has little appreciation for the cryptic arts."

They knock on the back door and a slide opens. "Who knocks at the guarded gate?"

"One who has eaten the fruit and tasted its mysteries." Obviously a secret password designed to look like a conversation. And the door opens for the two old men. But Iroh turns around and stops Zuko from following. "I'm afraid it's members only. Wait out here."

And of course, with the two of us waiting out in the shop, there's no one for Zuko to use to distract him from his boredom, other than me. "So, what's your story? All I've really gotten out of you is your name. What's with all the princess stuff? And Flame of the Rising Sun? What's all that about."

I glare at him and light my hand on fire. "This is the Flame of the Rising Sun that you're so interested in. It's golden fire, a unique color of fire found only in one family in the entire Fire Nation. Well, we used to be in the Fire Nation. But that was a long time ago." I cross my arms and look away from him. "I was born in the Earth Kingdom myself."

"How long ago?"

I glance at him, and he looks genuinely curious, so I humor him. "I was born sixteen years ago, my birthday was a couple of weeks ago, just after the spring equinox. But it's been about a hundred and five years since anyone in my family has set foot in the Fire Nation. Until the incident at Roku's temple. Sozin made very sure of that."

Zuko's eyes go wide. "My great-grandfather? Fire Lord Sozin?"

"Yep. He exiled my family in his bid to seize power. And now, I'm the only one left."

"Okay, so what about my uncle calling you a princess?" Now he's really confused, I can hear it in his voice.

I turn around and stare at him. "If it weren't for Sozin, I would have grown up in a palace instead of the wilderness. Let's leave it at that. If you want to know more, then find some archives to dig through. Well, assuming that Sozin didn't go and obliterate every trace of us from history. I'm guessing that they don't teach the history of the Fire Nation at school, at least, not the real history. Of course, you could always ask your uncle. He seems to know more about it than most people, considering what he called me. And here I thought that I would be able to walk around without people recognizing me instantly. So much for that."

Zuko keeps quiet for a minute, and then he opens his mouth again. "Why did you protect my uncle from Azula? We're enemies."

I raise an eyebrow at him. "Because you sister is a serious piece of work, because your uncle is nice to me, and because I wanted to. Do I need any more reasons? Besides, unless you're actively chasing down Aang or me, I have nothing against you." Then I slide to the floor and cross my arms over my knees. "Now, if you're done prying into my life, I'm going to get some sleep. And I'll assume that you won't try to kill me with your uncle so close by."

"You can sleep like that?" He looks at me incredulously. "How?"

"Practice." Then I close my eyes. "When you're on the run your whole life, you learn to sleep when you can, and get food from a variety of sources. I survive, which is becoming more and more difficult every time I run into anyone from the Fire Nation." Then I sigh. "Now let me get some sleep, I'm still tired from fighting with a group of sandbenders." And I slowly nod off in this less than comfortable position.

* * *

"Ciara. Ciara, it's time to wake up." Someone shakes my shoulder and my eyes flutter open.

I rub my eyes and look up to see Iroh. "Oh, it's you. How long did I sleep?"

Iroh smiles at me. "It's morning now, you've slept for several hours. We're going to Ba Sing Se, and you are welcome to come with us."

I blink, and then consider it. "Actually, that's a good idea. We were planning to go to Ba Sing Se eventually, so if I go there, then maybe I'll be able to find Aang and the others. And considering the situation, they'll probably be headed there soon."

Iroh hands me some papers. "Here, a passport. We will be able to travel to Ba Sing Se with these." Then he looks outside. "Now hurry, our escape has been arranged."

Of course, when he says escape, what he means is leaving the flower shop in three large flower pots. And once we're a safe distance from the oasis, we thank the shop helper for aiding us in our escape, and we head off to the north, towards Ba Sing Se.

* * *

But since we're on foot, our journey is a long one, and a lot of it is going to be through wilderness, especially seeing as we might have bounty hunters after us. So, camping out in the woods is something that I insist on, and that Zuko resents.

Our first night in the woods, Zuko glares at me the entire time we set up camp. "And exactly what are we supposed to eat out here? This was your brilliant idea, remember?"

"Now Zuko, she is just trying to stay alive. Be kind to her." Iroh smiles at me. "Isn't that right, Ciara?"

I roll my eyes. "If you're that hungry, then I'll go out."

Zuko frowns at me. "Go out where?"

I blink at him, and then slap my forehead. "Use your brain. With Aang, I'm almost always camping out in the wilderness. And before that, I would camp in the wilderness for weeks without seeing a town. And with Aang, Sokka, Katara and Toph, who all grew up rather sheltered, who do you think went out and got the food?"

"How do you get enough food for that many people?"

"How do you think?" I pull out my knife and show it to him. "I go out and hunt. You know that thing that people do when they get hungry and there are no towns around? I'm the survivalist in the group, so I go out and do the hunting, since I'm an expert tracker. Usually, I do enough for a few days, finding a deer here and there, and sometimes some fish. But four-legged animals are my specialty, Sokka usually does fish. Anyway, I'll be back in a little while."

I get up from tending the fire and walk off into the woods. Thankfully, these woods seem to have plenty of wildlife, and it isn't long before I spot a nice big deer. I stalk it quietly, carefully. And then, I hurl my knife at it and slice its throat open. It falls to the ground and starts bleeding out. So I scramble over to it and let it bleed out before hefting it over my shoulder and returning to the campsite.

I arrive at the camp and toss the deer onto the ground. "See, I told you that I could get enough food. This could last us a few days if we dry some of it."

Zuko stares at me in disbelief, and Iroh makes me a spit while I skin and disembowel the deer. I take the spit and spear a large portion of the meat, rubbing some herbs I found on it and balancing it on a couple of stick tents over the firepit. I start cutting up the rest of the meat and setting it to dry.

My job finished, I get up and go to a nearby stream to wash my hands. The blood comes off easily, and thankfully, I didn't get any blood on my clothes. But this water tribe dress is still a little weird to be wearing. Though thankfully, I'm not wearing the coat, since that would just be too hot.

I return to the camp and find that the meat is cooking well. So I sit down against a tree and play with a little fire in my hand, making a tiny phoenix and dragon that dance and fly around each other. It's one of the ways that I pass the time.

Iroh notices my little distraction. "Oh, how splendid. Your control is magnificent. What else can you make?"

I flick my eyes to him, then back down to my palm. And in an instant, a mini Iroh appears in my palm, playing a tsungi horn and swaying around to imaginary music. "I can make anything as long as I can picture it in my mind. It's a good way to distract myself. Other than having Toph ask me endless questions, or having Sokka cracking his terrible jokes."

"Would you stop talking about the Avatar?" Zuko glares at me. "You can't see to go more than five minutes without mentioning him or his friends."

"Well, they're my friends too." I snap at him, pissed off by his damned attitude. "And if you've got a problem with that, then you can go shove your head down a gopher hole."

Iroh sighs. "Would you two please not fight? It disrupts the peaceful balance of energy in this forest."

I glance at Zuko to see him looking at me. Then I flick my eyes away and focus on the cooking meat. "It looks like the food is done. Go ahead and stuff yourselves, you look like you need it."

Zuko hesitates, and then reaches for some of the meat. But Iroh takes some and hands it to me first before taking some for himself. We eat in relative silence, despite Iroh's many attempts to get me and Zuko to have a civilized conversation.

Iroh falls asleep first, and he snores a fair bit, but Zuko seems determined not to go to sleep. I glance at him curiously. "So why aren't you going to sleep?"

"Why aren't you?" He looks back at me suspiciously.

I flick my eyes back to the fire. "Force of habit. I'm the one who's usually on night watch."

"Oh, I see." Suddenly, Zuko looks a little guilty. "Sorry about that. I thought that you were staying awake so you could attack us."

I raise an eyebrow. "If I was going to attack you, I would have done it by now. Plus, there are easier ways to kill you, like letting you starve to death. I wouldn't have bothered feeding someone I was planning to kill. Not that I kill anyone anyway. So just go to sleep, we have a long day ahead." And with that, I huddle up and let myself drift off to sleep.

* * *

The next few days proceed in about the same manner. Though Zuko does loosen up a little around me. And since he loosens up, I loosen up a bit as well, which Iroh doesn't fail to notice. And with a more pleasant atmosphere, Iroh coaxes me into trading traveling stories with him. And some of them involve escapades with Aang, like the hog—monkey riding and the elephant koi surfing. His stories are fascinating, at least, the ones without war in them. Thankfully, he leaves most of those out.

We arrive at Full Moon Bay in one piece, well three pieces, since there are three of us, and we board the ferry without any problems. And as we look out at the lake, Iroh seems the most enthusiastic about this. "Who would have thought, after all these years, I'd return to the scene of my greatest military disgrace…as a tourist!" And he even has a weird hat to match his mood.

Zuko, on the other hand, is not pleased. "Look around. We're not tourists, we're refugees." Then he tries his soup and spits it back out. "Ugh! I'm sick of eating rotten food, sleeping in the dirt. I'm tired of living like this."

"Aren't we all?" I snap my head towards the sound of that very familiar voice. And there he is, a bit of a nightmare. "My name's Jet, and these are my Freedom Fighters, Smellerbee and Longshot."

Smellerbee nods to us. "Hey." And Longshot acknowledges us with a nod.

Zuko looks back briefly. "Hello."

Jet prances right up to us like a fool. "Here's the deal. I hear the captain's eating like a king while us refugees have to feed off his scraps. Doesn't seem fair, does it?"

"What sort of king is he eating like?" Oh Iroh, the old man really knows how to be silly sometimes.

"The fat, happy kind." Jet's words make Iroh drool a little. "You want to help us liberate some food?"

Zuko throws his bowl of rotten food over the side. "I'm in."

Jet turns to me. "What about you young lady? Do you think that you'd like to tag along on this little mission?"

I look him up and down with a bored expression. "Not really. I'm better at liberating people, not food. I usually catch my food."

He shrugs. "Fair enough. Though if you've been helping to free people, then you at least deserve a little good food on this trip." He smirks and leaves with Zuko in tow, off on some crazy mission to steal food.

While Zuko is gone, Iroh and I find a place to sit down and talk. I continue telling him stories about my time traveling on my own. That is, until a wave of pain tears through my back and I end up curled up on the floor like a child. "Nnngh, it hurts..."

"Ciara, what's wrong?" He pats my back gently, until he accidentally touches right in the middle, and I groan in pain. "Ciara! Tell me what is hurting you."

"My back, it's burning." I curl up tightly in a ball, trying to wait out the pain.

Iroh opens up the outer layer of my dress and pulls up the back of the shirt I wear under it. Then, his hands start to shake. "Oh no, this is terrible."

The pain finally starts to settle, so I pull down my shirt and put my dress back on. "It's my curse, so please don't dwell on it."

"But my dear, you are so pale. You need your rest. You need to recover your strength." He rubs my shoulders and rests my head on his lap. "Sleep will be good for you. You haven't slept enough since we left the desert."

"I know. But I can't seem to sleep. I lost one family already, and now, I'm separated from my new one. I'm scared, and alone, and I don't know how to handle it." I shiver, until he warms the air around me a little.

"Sleep now. I will wake you in the morning."

I slowly drift off to sleep, trying to forget the pain that tore through me earlier. If this happens again, I don't know if I'll be able to handle it. It's just one more thing that I have to keep secret from the world. And that scares me more than anything else.


	28. Reunion

I wake up to a foggy morning. And when I get up, I start walking around to stretch my legs. And as I walk around, I see the walls of Ba Sing Se. That means that I'm getting closer to finally returning to my friends.

The ferry finally docks, and only when we get off the boat do I realize that the ferry's swaying was actually making me sick. "Great, I got seasick on a lake, that's pretty bad."

"Don't be ashamed of being seasick. That boat was not the most structurally sound." Iroh pats my back kindly and his voice is soothing.

But Zuko isn't too sympathetic. "How come you weren't seasick when I captured you?"

I give the world a minute to stop spinning before answering. "At least your ship didn't wobble so much. And that's not the only problem I had this time."

Zuko looks a little creeped out. "Do I want to know what other problem you had?"

"No, you don't."

We head inside and go to the train station, where we are held up by an incompetent ticket lady. And what makes both me and Zuko choke on air is when Iroh starts flirting with her to get her to wave us through faster.

I glance at Zuko and he holds up a hand. "We will never speak of this again."

"Agreed." I nod and shiver at the memory of seeing them flirt.

Zuko swipes his ticket from his uncle. "I'm going to forget I saw that."

Iroh hands me my ticket and I just shake my head. "I'm not even going to comment on that performance."

We sit in the waiting room for a train to arrive, and Jet approaches us immediately. "So, you guys got plans once you're inside the city?"

And of course, when a tea maker passes by offering hot tea, Iroh calls the guy over and gets a cup of jasmine tea. But as soon as he takes a drink, he spits it out. "Coldest tea in Ba Sing Se is more like it. What a disgrace."

I look back at Jet and sigh. "Once I'm inside, I have to go hunting for some friends of mine. We got separated out in the desert, so I came here to meet up with them." Then I glare at Jet. "I'm sure you've met them before, despite the fact that you don't seem to recognize someone that you brought into your own camp."

He frowns at me, then his eyes widen. "No way. You were with the Avatar."

I roll my eyes. "Correct. Now why don't you leave me alone before I decide to get angry with you for what you did to that village?"

He edges away from me, and then nudges Zuko. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?"

Zuko follows Jet off to talk, then comes back just as quickly. Too quickly, it seems, but then again, Jet just drives some people away, just like how he draws others in. His charm is a toss-up. Either you like him, or you don't.

Then, Zuko notices that Iroh now has hot tea. He swats it away and glares at his uncle, his voice hushed. "What are you doing firebending your tea? For a wise old man, that was a pretty stupid move."

Iroh looks like he's going to cry. "I know you're not supposed to cry over spilled tea but it's just so sad." He sniffles a little and I slap my forehead. "Even I think that was stupid, and I try not to judge people."

Zuko turns on me. "And why didn't you stop him?"

I roll my eyes. "I didn't notice. And speaking of not noticing, I'm kind of sick right now, unless you hadn't noticed. So forgive me for not paying attention to your uncle and his tea."

Zuko suddenly looks a little guilty, again. "I didn't realize…you look kind of pale, you have for a while, actually."

I roll my eyes. "Good of you to notice." Then I notice that the train is here. "Alright, time to go."

We board a train that heads for the inner city. It takes us past hundreds of crop fields, which explains why Ba Sing Se is impregnable; they have their own food supply. The view is incredible. Then my eyes drift back to Zuko, who sits across from me, with his uncle. I catch him looking at me, and he looks away quickly.

So I go back to looking at the scenery, which is much more organised than the wilderness that I'm used to. But this place is huge, and I have no idea how long it will take me to finally find my friends. I've been away from them for a week, and I'm starting to get a little freaked out.

Unfortunately, seeing as I have no idea where to even start looking for my friends, I'm pretty much stuck. So Iroh insists that I stay with him and Zuko until I find my group. I try to refuse, but the old man just won't let me. He's determined to keep an eye on me, and I think I know why. He knew Dad, so he doesn't want to let anything happen to me.

Iroh manages to score him and Zuko jobs in a teahouse, and I run around doing as much investigating as possible. But for the first day, I don't come up with much. I hear rumors about Aang being in the city, but I have no idea if they're true, or where he might be. This place is huge.

And when the two of them get back, Zuko crashes on his bed, and Iroh goes to the kitchen. Then, he turns to both of us. "Would you like a pot of tea?"

Zuko rolls his eyes. "We've been working in a tea shop all day. I'm sick of tea."

"Sick of tea? That's like being sick of breathing!" Iroh looks around a bit. "Have you seen our spark rocks to heat up the water?"

But since he can't find the spark rocks, he leaves the house and goes next door. He comes back a minute later with a smile on his face. "I borrowed our neighbor's. Such kind people." He lights the wood under the pot and I drift to sleep to the smell of tea.

I resume my search of the city in the morning, and I finally get my chance. I see a woman in a carriage. I approach the carriage and knock on the door. "Excuse me, can you help me, I need some information and I would prefer to speak to an official."

She looks out of the carriage with a smile. "Oh my, would you happen to be Ciara?"

I blink. "Yes, but how do you know my name?"

Her smile grows wider, inordinately so. "Agents have been searching for you for a few days now. Your friends have arrived in the city, and are waiting for you in the upper ring."

My eyes widen in surprise. "Aang is here? And Katara and Sokka and Toph?"

"Yes, would you like to come with me? I am their hostess, Joo Dee."

I nod and climb into the carriage. "Could we make a stop on the way? I have someone to say goodbye to."

"Of course, where would you like to go?"

I give her directions to the tea house and the carriage driver takes me there quickly. I step out for a minute and go into the tea house. And there I see Iroh and Zuko. I approach Iroh and give him a short bow. "Thank you for your kindness the past few days. I've just found out where my friends are, so I'll be leaving for the upper ring shortly."

Iroh smiles warmly at me. "I see. Well then, good luck to you, and make sure that you take care of yourself."

"Of course." I smile brightly and laugh a bit. "It takes more than a week in the desert and a bad boat ride to bring me down."

I glance at Zuko, who turns his eyes away quickly. He's taken to staring at me a lot, but I don't pay it much mind. I nod to him, then turn on heel and leave the tea house, climbing back into the carriage. And a few hours later, a couple of hours before mid-day, we arrive in the upper ring, at the house where Aang and the others are.

I let myself in and hear talking in the living room. So I creep in and listen carefully. "No, it just says, bear." That's Katara's voice.

"This place is weird." And Toph goes and say exactly what's on her mind.

So I smirk and lean in the doorway. "Still pointing out the obvious, huh Toph?"

All of them snap their heads around to look at me, and immediately, Katara and Aang smother me in a hug. Then they let go and Katara puts her hands on my shoulders. "Where have you been? You've been missing for over a week!"

"Sorry, I got caught by the sandbenders. They had me tied up in the bar in the oasis and I managed to escape. I came here with a couple other people, but I've been trying to find you all for a couple of days." I smile at the all. "I really missed you guys."

"We missed you too." And the smile on Aang's face is happy and sad at the same time. "I don't suppose you know where Appa is?"

I shake my head. "Appa was gone by the time I woke up. They moved pretty quickly to trade him off. I was only out for half a day at most, and he was already gone. I'm sorry, I couldn't save him."

Aang breathes deeply. "It's okay. We have more than just Appa to worry about."

That puts a grin on my face. "Then what's the plan?"

Katara smiles eagerly. "Tonight, the palace will be packed for the birthday celebrations for the king's pet bear. We can sneak in with the crowd."

Toph lies back on a couple of pillows. "Won't work."

That confuses Katara. "Why not?"

"Well, no offense to you simple country folk, but a real society crowd would spot you a mile away. You've got no manners."

"Excuse me? I've got no manners? You're not exactly Lady Fancyfingers."

Toph throws some food aside. "I learned proper society behavior and chose to leave it. And from what I've seen, Ciara is the same way. Even when she's being rude, she has an air of being born into high society around her, she insults people in a way that makes her seem naturally superior. And when she actually uses her manners, she could probably fool the king himself." Then Toph rubs her hand clean on her clothes. "You never learned anything. And frankly, it's a little too late."

"Aha, but you learned it, you could teach us!" Sokka seems a little too eager.

Aang shrugs. "Yeah, I'm mastering every element, how hard can manners be?"

And then Aang and Sokka get into some weird skit, pretending to be high-class gentlemen having a polite conversation. And frankly, it's actually really bad. And eventually, they get into a bowing contest that ends with them smacking their heads together.

Toph finally gets to her feet. "Katara might be able to pull it off. But you two would be lucky to pass as busboys."

So, since it's decided that we girls will be going, we spend the entire afternoon catching up, getting cleaned and dressed, and putting makeup on each other. Of course I end up putting makeup on Katara and Toph, since Katara has no idea how to do makeup, and Toph is blind. And I teach Katara to do it so that she can put mine on. I also do Katara's hair, while she does Toph's. My hair is a bit more problematic, since it's short. So I put it up in a small bun and disguise the shortness with hair ornaments.

When we finally emerge to show the boys, we all giggle a little at their reactions. Then we head off to the party. We have our plan, sort of, and I have an alias that I can use just in case anyone asks me for my name.

We approach the main gate of the palace and when the guard asks for an invitation Toph shows him her family crest. But the guard tries to turn us away, so Toph goes all noble lady on him. "Look, the Pangs and the Yan Soon Hongs are in there waiting for us. I'm going to have to tell them who didn't let me in."

The guard still turns us away, so Katara gets an idea when we see a carriage pull up. She approaches the man who looks like an official, and she speaks the way that I taught her to. "Sir, I'm sorry to bother you, but my cousin lost our invitations." Katara gets closer to the man and whispers quietly. "She's blind." Then she backs up a little and goes back to being sweet and proper. "Do you think you could help us? Our family's inside and I'm sure they're very worried."

The man regards us, and then bows. "I am honored. Please, come with me." And just like that, we get inside. And when we see the party, the man smiles. "It's beautiful isn't it? By the way, I'm Long Feng. I'm a cultural minister to the king."

Katara smiles back. "I'm Kwa Mai, and this is…Dum" She gestures to Toph, who is not pleased by the name. 'And this is-"

I cut her off before she can give me a stupid name "My name is Hana Li. I am Kwa Mai's elder sister. It is a pleasure to be properly introduced to you, Minister Long Feng." I give a small curtsy and a bright smile.

He nods and looks around. "Now where is your family? I'd love to meet them."

Katara glances around for show. "Uh…I don't see them right now, but I'm sure we'll find them soon. Thanks for all your help." She smiles at him and the three of us walk away from him and towards the party.

But he suddenly pops right back up. "Don't worry, as your escort, it would be dishonorable to abandon you ladies without finding your family first. We'll keep looking."

After a while, we spot Aang and Sokka dressed up as busboys. So, we get close to them under the guise of getting some food. Toph plays it right up. "Another crab puff please."

"You found us!" Aang is pretty excited now that we're together.

Toph smiles. "I'd know your little footsteps anywhere Twinkle Toes."

Sokka rolls his eyes. "Thanks for letting us in!"

"Sorry." Katara. Really does look sorry. "But the guy who escorted us in won't let us out of his sight."

Sokka looks around us. "What guy?"

I look around as well. "This is weird. Considering how intent he was on following us, he shouldn't have disappeared like that." Then I notice Joo Dee. "Ah, but we have a new problem."

Joo Dee walks up to us. "What are you doing here? You have to leave immediately, or we will be in terrible trouble!"

She tries to shoo us out, but Sokka blocks her efforts with his tray. "Not until we see the king."

"You don't understand, you must go!" She shoves at Sokka, but we're not going to be deterred by some handler.

And of course, we attract trouble like no others, and because Joo Dee shoved Sokka, Sokka falls on Aang, who spills a pitcher of water on one of the guests.

The lady freaks out. "Aarrrh! Oh!"

Aang tries to calm her down. "Sorry. No, don't shout." The he gets an idea and uses his airbending to dry the lady off. Though he completely ruins her dress and makeup in the process. And, he blows his hat off, revealing Momo.

"The Avatar!" She looks amazed by Aang's presence. ""I didn't know the Avatar would be here."

And of course, Aang can't go anywhere without being noticed, so Sokka has Aang provide a distraction while he looks around for the Earth King. And Aang does just that, collecting a bunch of juice with waterbending, and making a colorful sphere in the air that greatly entertains the guests, as well as the bear sitting at the head of the main table.

Then, a procession comes in with the Earth King riding in a palanquin. And Aang finally stops entertaining the bear and gets on an air scooter, zooming over to the king. "Greetings, Your Majesty."

I notice Sokka being taken away by a couple of guys who look like they're secret police types. I've run into their kind before, so I carefully look around, notice the agents who are tracking me, and I use the crowd to distract them as I slip right out of the palace.

I manage to get away without letting the agents catch me, though they follow me from the palace and all the way back to the house. So I turn around to face them. "I know you're hiding out there. And I suggest that you leave me well enough alone. I'm not someone that you really want to trifle with, little agents who sneak through the halls of the palace, hiding in the shadows." Then I turn to go inside and close the door firmly behind me.

Aang and the others return an hour later, and none of them are looking very happy. Katara approaches me, looking very upset. "The Dai Li won't let us see the Earth King. We're not allowed to talk about the war here in the city. And we're going to be put under surveillance by Dai Li agents."

I sigh. "I see, so that's what's going on. In any case, we need to find Appa, and then we can deal with the Dai Li."

"Yeah…" She still looks really sad, so I pat her on the shoulder and coax her to her bed. And once she's gotten her clothes and makeup off, she falls asleep while I stroke her hair.


	29. Girls' Day Out

A few days later, Katara comes barging into my room with Toph, who is being dragged along. "Ciara! Come on, we're going to have a girls' day out."

I sit up and blink at her. "You can't be serious. Unless you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly very girly."

"Then how about we change that?" She grabs my hand and pulls me out of bed. "Now get ready, quickly, I know exactly where we're going for the day."

I sigh and get dressed, since Katara probably won't stop bugging me until I go along with her. But what I dread, and end up seeing, when Katara drags us out into the city, is a place called the Fancy Lady Day Spa.

Toph groans. "The Fancy Lady Day Spa? Sounds like my kind of place…"

Katara looks at us and grins. "Are you ready for some serious pampering?"

"Sure Katara, whatever you say. As long as they don't touch my feet." Toph sounds willing to do this. But I think that she just jinxed herself.

And as expected, Toph jinxed herself and the first item on the list is pedicures. Second up is mud baths, and Toph makes the most hilarious faces out of the mud. I enjoy the heat of the baths myself, but I make sure that no one gets to see my back, not even the spa attendants.

Then, we sit in the sauna to relax. Of course, in the sauna, it's funny. Toph earthbends stones into the pit, I heat the rocks with my firebending, and Katara bends water onto the hot rocks to make the steam. It's an all girls bending party in the sauna.

Last up, we go to the salon in the spa where we get our hair and makeup done. And of course, because of my very rare hair color, the ladies in the salon make a huge fuss over it, before the one working on me shoos them away and starts to comb through the curls. She braids it back from the front, then does the back up with a couple of ornaments. Then comes the makeup, which I make sure they apply only lightly to my face in order to bring out the sharp gold of my eyes.

When we finally leave, we all feel refreshed and pampered. Even Toph, who is actually smiling. "Well, that wasn't so bad. I'm not usually into that stuff, but I actually feel girly."

Katara smiles. "I'm glad. It's about time we actually did something fun together."

I grin and laugh. "Well, it could have been worse. I've never been to a spa before, and it was actually a lot better than I thought it would be. Maybe we should go one more time before we leave the city."

"So, what do you plan to do for the rest of the day, Ciara?" Katara looks over at me, noticing that I've turned in a different direction.

I smile. "I'm going down to the lower ring to make a visit. There is someone there that I want to say hello to."

"Alright, have fun!"

I turn away from them at the bridge and head off towards the train station. I board the train heading to the lower ring, and I get a lot of weird looks. Of course, a pretty girl in a dress, rich-looking and young, would get a lot of weird looks if she was heading to the poorest section of the city.

But I ignore them and get off in the lower ring, aware of the Dai Li agent following me. But I'm not doing anything suspicious, so I just walk through the area and find the tea house that I've been looking for. I go inside, and I surprise a lot of the patrons with my quiet entrance.

The owner of the shop approaches me and bows. "I'm honored that such a refined young lady would grace our teashop with her presence. Would you like to sit down and have some tea? Maybe some desserts?"

I smile at him and nod. "Yes please. If you have it, I would like some raspberry tea and berry tarts."

He nods and rushes back to the counter, then looks around the back corner and returns with Iroh in tow. He brings Iroh over and smiles. "Mushi here will see to anything you want."

As the owner walks away, Iroh smiles at me. "It is good to see you again young lady. Now, you wanted raspberry tea?" He puts a cup on the table for me and pours me a sweet-smelling cup of tea. "I will send Lee out with your desserts."

Iroh goes back to the counter, leaving the pot of tea with me, and Zuko comes out, looking a little irritated, but dutifully carrying a tray of tarts. He looks around, then spots me and walks over, setting the tray down carefully. "Here are your tarts, Miss." I flick my eyes to him, and then start giggling. That annoys him and his mouth twitches. "What's so funny?"

"Oh to think that all it takes is a trip to a spa and suddenly, you don't even recognize me." I smirk a little at him and reach for a tart. "Why don't you sit with me for a little while and tell me about how it's been, getting used to Ba Sing Se?"

He looks confused, so I stare directly into his eyes and move my bangs aside so that he can see my eyes. And that's when his confusion turns into shock. "Ciara? You look so…"

"Different?" I giggle again. "Yes, I do, don't I? I went with Katara and Toph to a spa today, a girls' day out kind of thing. Well, Katara wanted to go, and she dragged the two of us along. That's why I look…well…"

"Like a girl." Zuko turns his head away and sits. "You look like a noble girl now."

I raise an eyebrow. "Did I not look like a girl before? Did you honestly mistake me for a boy?"

"With dirty clothes and short hair, yes, I almost did." He crosses his arms and glances at me. "So why are you here? If you've moved to the upper ring, shouldn't you be drinking in the tea shops there?"

I raise an eyebrow. "Tea isn't something that I usually drink. It's a ruse; I wanted to come see the two of you." I take a sip of my tea and it's delicious. "Besides, your uncle makes good tea."

I drop my voice to barely a whisper. "Also, I'm being followed, and this was the safest place I could think of."

"Followed? Do they know that you're a…" He looks around, suddenly very nervous.

I shake my head. "No, it's for another reason. But that's a story for another day. I really did come here to hear how you two are getting on in this place."

He blinks, and then relaxes a little. "It's fine, I guess. I just hate living like this."

"You're used to luxury and adventure. Neither of which you have." I sigh lightly. "Sometimes I wish I could have this kind of stability. But I know that it can't happen. I was just born different."

"Born different…I can understand that, a little." He suddenly looks a little wistful. "Anyway, you don't seem to like the upper ring. Are you just there because your friends are?"

I nod. "I think that I've been on the run too long, and now, I can't settle down anywhere. Even if I was allowed to, I think that I would always be restless and looking for an adventure. It's kind of turned into my entire life. I don't think I'll ever be able to leave it behind. Not until the day I die."

His eyes slide over me and fix themselves on mine, holding my gaze. He looks conflicted, strained, and maybe a little homesick. So I smile and pick up a tart, then bite into it. It's good, really good. So I pick another one up and step on Zuko's foot, causing him to exclaim just long enough for me to shove it into his mouth.

I grin as he chews and swallows the tart. "That's a good boy. It's tasty isn't it?"

He nods, his cheeks going a little pink. "Yeah, it's sweet."

"But not too sweet. And a little sour because of the berries." I take another bite of mine and finish the tart. "I like my desserts sweet and sour. And I like my food spicy or salty. I don't like bitter things, or things that are too sweet, like honey. That's why I do a lot of the cooking for my friends. I can make everything the way I like it."

Zuko snorts and rolls his eyes. "So you do the cooking for them as well. It sounds like you're their mother."

My eyes flick back to the pile of tarts and I take one, twirling it between my fingers. "Well, I am the oldest. Sokka is still only fifteen, and I'm sixteen now. Hah, Aang has even tried to vote me into being the leader of our group, he called for a vote three times before I finally told him that I'm not going to do it. But no, I'm kind of like the older sister of the group. I stop the fights, keep them healthy, and even fly Appa sometimes." Then I freeze after mentioning Appa. "Anyway, it's good to see that the two of you are doing well."

Before Zuko can say anything else, I call over his uncle. "Excuse me; do you have a basket that the rest of the tarts can be put in? My friends would love to try them."

Iroh comes over with a basket and smiles. "Of course, and I put some more in there for you. I hope that your friends enjoy them."

I get up and smile at him before handing him a few silver coins, courtesy of our less than pleasant hosts. "I'm sure that they will. One in particular has a voracious sweet tooth."

I take the basket and leave the shop to find a carriage waiting for me. I sigh and climb into it, then settle the basket on my lap. I look out the window and see Zuko peeking out one of the windows. So I wave a little before the carriage takes me out of sight and back to the train that returns me to the upper ring.

When I get back, we all enjoy the tarts. Then we fall into discussion about how we're going to find Appa in this tremendously huge city. It's going to be a monumental task, and we have no idea where to start our search.


	30. Lake Laogai

With the search for Appa going nowhere, we decide that making posters of Appa will be the best way to start. So since I can't draw at all, Sokka sucks at drawing, and Toph can't see, Aang and Katara take care of making the posters, much to Sokka's dismay. They even find a place to make copies so that we can plaster them all over the city.

So, I lounge around with Toph, Sokka and Katara while Aang goes flying around the city to drop the leaflets. He comes back after an hour or so. "So, has anyone come in with news about Appa?"

Katara brushes him off. "It's only been a day, just be patient."

I turn to Aang and smile. "If a lot of people had seen Appa, we wouldn't have to look for him; we could just follow the rumors. But since there are no rumors, you have to wait for the leaflets to make their way around to all of the people, and there are thousands of people. So once everyone has a chance to see the leaflets, we're sure to get a hit. It's just going to take a little time."

Then, there's a knocking on the door. Aang gets up, all excited. "Wow! You're right, patience really does pay off." He rushes to the door and opens it, and we're all surprised by who is at the door. "Joo Dee?"

She steps inside. "Hello Aang, and Katara, and Sokka, and Toph, and Ciara."

Sokka is confused. "What happened to you? Did the Dai Li throw you in jail?"

"What?" She looks bewildered. "Jail? Of course not. The Dai Li are the protectors of our cultural heritage."

"But you disappeared at the Earth King's party." Toph points out that very important detail to her.

"Oh, I simply took a short vacation to Lake Laogai, out in the country. It was quite relaxing." So basically, this woman abandoned her guests in order to go on vacation. Yeah, that's not suspicious at all.

Katara expresses her surprise and confusion. "But then they replaced you with some other woman who also said her name was Joo Dee."

"I'm Joo Dee." She touches her hand to her chest and her tone is insisting.

Aang gets to the point, finally. "Why are you here?"

Joo Dee takes out one of the leaflets. "Dropping fliers and putting up posters isn't permitted within the city. Not without proper clearance."

"We can't wait around to get permission for everything." Sokka's frustration mirrors my own, though I hide mine well."

But Joo Dee is insistent. "You are absolutely forbidden by the rules of the city to continue putting up posters."

And now, Aang loses it. "We don't care about the rules and we're not asking permission! We're finding Appa on our own and you should just stay out of our way!" He slams the door right in her face and starts fuming.

"That might come back to bite us in the blubber." And as always, Sokka's jokes are a bit stupid.

"I don't care. From now on, we do whatever it takes to find Appa."

Toph is all for this idea. "Yeah! Let's break some rules!" And she goes and earthbends an entire wall down, making a huge hole in the side of the house.

* * *

So, with Aang determined to do this, we all split up. The others are putting up posters, and leaving me to do what I do best. I put on some fresh clothes and go out into the city. And there, I start tracking. First, I track Appa to a warehouse, then, I follow small traces of fur through the city, and I find the remnants of footprints, as well as a little bit of damage that is characteristic of Appa's tail swinging around.

I find an underground tunnel and break through it by force with firebending. I run through the tunnel and find a veritable labyrinth of drainage tunnels. I hate tunnels, and I hate drainage pipes, and I really hate being underground. It's dark and damp and cramped, all of the things I hate most. So to me, this is the worst possible place to be. Nonetheless, I'm on a mission, and these tunnels are large enough for them to bring Appa through. And they're far enough underground that no one would be able to hear him.

Eventually, I come to a dry section, and it's mostly smooth sailing from there. I sneak silently through the tunnels. And every time I come to a door, I open it and check the inside, making sure to close them after searching.

And then, finally, I find a door that I haven't tried, despite all of my backtracking and navigating. I open the door and see a big furry creature inside. But then, I hear voices, so I close the door, run around Appa, and hide behind one of his front legs.

The door opens and a couple of agents come in. "I thought I saw someone come in here."

Appa moves one of his legs so that I'm lying between his paws, and he puts his head down on top of me, obscuring me from view. I make sure to breathe silently, carefully avoiding alerting them to my presence.

"Looks like there's no one here except the bison. Let's go."

The door closes, and I hear the footsteps head down the hallway. So I slip out from under Appa and make a flame in my hand so that I can see. "Appa, oh what have they done to you?" He's chained to the ground and obviously scared. I pet his snout and stroke his fur gently. "Don't worry, I'm going to get you out of here."

But just as I prepare to make some lightning and free Appa, the door opens behind me and I spin around to come face to face with a familiar blue demon mask. "Expecting someone else?"

I blink, registering that this is not a hoax. It's Zuko's voice. But I keep my hands in a ready position anyway. "Actually, yes. I thought that I was about to have a duel to the death with the Dai Li. Instead, it turns out to be you." I look him up and down, weighing my options. "So, today, are you friend or foe?"

Zuko draws his swords and takes a couple of steps towards me, focusing on Appa. "You're mine now." And in response to that, Appa gets to his feet and stomps around behind me.

I'm on guard, and ready to strike at any moment. "I'm warning you, if you try to hurt Appa, I will bring you down before you have the chance."

Zuko frowns at me, but the door opens again, and Zuko spins around, ready to fight. But it turns out to be Iroh. And Zuko is definitely surprised. "Uncle?"

"So, the Blue Spirit. I wonder who could be behind that mask…" Iroh's pointed statement shows that he already knows.

Since there is no point in hiding his face in here, Zuko removes his mask. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing." Iroh sounds like he knew this was going to happen, which he probably did, considering that he followed Zuko here. "What do you plan to do now that you've found the Avatar's bison? Keep him locked in our new apartment? Should I go put on a pot of tea for him?" Then Iroh looks around at me. "And perhaps prepare some bandages? The young lady looks like someone prepared to spill their first blood to protect her friends. If you fight her like this, you will lose."

Zuko shakes his head. "First, we have to get it out of here."

"And then what? You never think these things through!" Iroh points at him exasperatedly. "This is exactly what happened when you captured the Avatar at the North Pole! You had him, and then, you had nowhere to go!"

"I would have figured something out!"

Iroh finally loses it at his nephew. "No! If his friends hadn't found you, you would have frozen to death!"

Zuko growls in frustration. "I know my own destiny, Uncle!"

"Is it your own destiny, or is it a destiny someone else has tried to force on you?"

"Stop it, Uncle! I have to do this!" Zuko turns to face me instead of his uncle, and I can see the pain on his face.

But Iroh won't have any of it. "I'm begging you Prince Zuko! It's time for you to look inward and begin asking yourself the big questions. Who are you, and what do you want?"

Zuko finally loses his temper, shouts, and throws his swords and mask to the ground in anger and frustration. So I huff impatiently and glare at the two of them. "This little philosophical debate is all well and good, but first, you two are being loud, and second, we're in the middle of enemy territory. So we had better leave quickly, or we're going to have a serious fight on our hands."

Iroh looks at me around his nephew. "And what is your plan for getting out of here? Do you have one?"

"Yeah, it's just the usual thing." I smirk. "Bust out, make a huge commotion, topple some stuff over and maybe almost kill someone, then pick up Aang and the others. Once we're together, I dare anyone to try bringing down Team Avatar."

Zuko's eye twitches. "Team Avatar?"

I shrug. "Sokka came up with it, I liked it, and I think Katara will warm up to it. Aang and Toph already have. An airbender, a waterbender, an earthbender, a firebender, and a non-bending weapons specialist. A well-rounded group that flies around solving people's problems with the Avatar. And now, I have to get our very friendly and snuggly ride out of here."

I turn back to Appa and prepare to make some lightning, but Zuko stops me. "Wait, I'll do it." And I watch as he picks up his swords and slashes at the chains, freeing Appa.

I look at him, and his eyes catch mine. I nod in appreciation, and then I climb up onto Appa's head. "All right boy, are you ready to get out of this place?"

Appa roars and I pat his head. He moves forward and Iroh gets out of the way. Then Appa turns around and uses his tail to bring down the entire section of wall. I glance at Iroh and Zuko, but Iroh just motions for me to take Appa and leave, so I do just that. I ride Appa down the tunnels that I came from and right back up into Ba Sing Se.

We fly high into the sky and over the city, but high enough to be out of sight. We backtrack to the lake, since Aang and the others are bound to be heading there or already there. And when we see then getting themselves into a situation with the Dai Li, we come soaring in with a vengeance, coming right down with the sun at our backs.

We smash through the first wall and send a bunch of the Dai Li flying, then through the second wall, where we finish the job. Then, we circle around and land right behind Long Feng. I smirk down at him and wave. "Hi there you lying bastard. Appa and I came to say hello. Well, after I broke him out of that underground base of yours."

Long Feng gets arrogant. "I can handle you by myself."

I sigh and roll my eyes. "Appa, bite!" And when Long Feng attacks, Appa catches him by the leg, biting down a bit, then throws him off into the lake, skipping him like a stone before he finally goes under. Then he spits out the lone shoe and I pat his head. "That's a good boy Appa. Such a good boy…"

And of course, everyone comes rushing over, ecstatic about seeing Appa again. Then they all climb on and we take off into the sky. And despite everything, it feels really good to be up in the sky again after so long. And I'm sure that even ground-loving Toph is feeling that way as well.

But as we fly, Aang looks at me quizzically. "So how did you get Appa out of there?"

I glance at him. "Well, I did have a little help with the chains, but other than that, I just had Appa break down a wall, and then I got him out through a series of tunnels, flew him over Ba Sing Se, and came right here, since I figured that the reason I only nearly got caught once was because the Dai Li were focused on you." Then I pat Appa again. "Appa was really smart. When those two agents came in, he moved me between his front paws and covered me with his head so that I wouldn't get caught. Such a good boy…"

Happy with my answer, Aang flies us over to a small island in the middle of the lake, where we touch down and start planning out strategy. So Sokka starts us off. "Look, we escaped from the Dai Li, we got Appa back. I'm telling you, we should go to the Earth King now and tell him our plan. We're on a roll."

But Katara seems determined to ruin her brother's mood. "One good hour after weeks of trouble isn't much of a roll."

"We can build on it. If we want to invade the Fire Nation when the eclipse happens, we'll need the Earth King's support." Sokka is being surprisingly positive today.

But Toph is the negative one. "What makes you think we'll get it? I don't know if you've noticed, but things don't usually go that smoothly for our little gang."

"I know, but I've got a good feeling about this. This time will be different."

"Sokka, Long Feng is in control of the city. His conspiracy with the Dai Li is too powerful. I think we should just keep flying and leave this horrible place behind us." Katara, once again, is being a downer.

"I'm with Sweetness. I've seen enough of Ba Sing Se. And I can't even see!" Toph waves her arms around dramatically.

Aang flies back down to us. "But now that we have Appa back, there's nothing stopping us from telling the Earth King the truth, about the conspiracy and the war."

"See, Aang's with me." Sokka puts his arm around Aang's shoulders. "It's the whole reason we came here in the first place. We have to try."

Katara still isn't too sure. "Well, I guess if the Earth King knew the truth, things could change." Then she turns to me. "What about you, Ciara? There are two for staying and two for leaving. What are we going to do?"

I take a deep breath and think about it. Then, I stare at them, determined. "Let's go to the Earth King. I want to bring down the Dai Li for what they've pulled. We can't sit idle and let that group continue to control the city. And once we've accomplished that, we can get the Earth King's support against the Fire Nation. That's our best bet, so let's not waste this chance."

"Fair enough." Sokka nods. But then, boats on the water attract our attention. "That's probably the Dai Li searching for us."

I nod. "Then let's fly. We have a monarch to meet."

We climb on Appa, without his saddle. We all hold on for dear life and Toph screams. "Can we please buy a new saddle? Riding bareback is terrifying!"


	31. The Earth King

As we approach the palace, Sokka points down. "There it is! That whole thing is the palace! The Earth King's chamber should be in the center."

Katara, as ever is the voice of caution. "We have to be careful. Long Fen's probably warned the king that we're coming."

"Why would you assume that? If you ask me, I think we're gonna sail right in and-" A huge rock flying through the air cuts Sokka off. "Aahh!"

"What was that!?" Toph, the poor girl, can't see a thing without touching solid ground.

"Surface to air rocks! More incoming!" Sokka, as always makes up a weird name and points out the obvious all in one breath.

Aang and Toph go about stopping some of the rocks with earthbending, and then, Aang hits the ground and takes out the entire guard force. And with that cleared, we continue to run towards the doors, Aang, Katara and Toph bending our way through and incapacitating the guards.

And even when they throw statues at us, we're undeterred. And when a whole new force arrives, Toph makes short work of them, and then brings us right to the top of the steps. We continue running inside and wonderful Toph keeps smashing guards in every direction.

"Toph! Which way to the Earth King." Sokka turns to her, hoping that she knows.

But she doesn't. "How am I supposed to know? I'm still voting that we leave Ba Sing Se."

So I look around. "This is a palace, right? We just need to look around until we find the biggest door!"

After a lot of door checking, we climb over some rubble and Sokka's jaw drops. "Now that's an impressive door. It's gotta go somewhere." He drops down and tries kicking the door. "Yaaah!" He tries pushing it, but it won't open. So, Toph and Aang bust the door down, much to Sokka's fright. "A little warning next time?"

Aang approaches the king as the Dai Li form ranks. "We need to talk to you."

But Long Feng won't have that. "They're here to overthrow you."

"No, we're on your side, we're here to help." Sokka is very insistent on this, and he sounds convincing.

"You have to trust us." Katara tries pleading next.

The king rises and sounds angry. "You invade my palace, lay waste to all my guards, break down my fancy door, and you expect me to trust you?"

Unhelpfully, Toph agrees. "He has a good point."

"If you're on my side, then drop your weapons and stand down." And surprisingly, Toph drops her boulder, Katara drops her pouch of water, Aang drops his staff, and Sokka drops his machete. Thought they all look at me, a bit worried.

"What?" I raise an eyebrow. "I can't disarm and you all know it. Even Aang can't fully disarm. But it's not like I'm carrying a physical weapon."

Aang nods and smiles at the Earth King. "See? We're friends, your Earthiness."

Then Long Feng gives a signal and smiles evilly. "Detain the assailants."

Rock handcuffs come flying out of nowhere and cuff all five of us. But that just pisses me right off. I growl at Long Feng. "You're going to wish that you hadn't done that."

"But we dropped our weapons! We're your allies!" Sokka is really upset now.

Long Feng clearly doesn't care. "Make sure the Avatar and his friends never see daylight again."

I breathe in, then out, and in a brilliant flash of light, my cuffs explode and I take up a battle ready stance. "Like I said, you're going to wish you hadn't done that! Anyone who hurts my friends is my enemy!"

"The Avatar?" The king steps forward. "You're the Avatar?" He points at Sokka.

Sokka nudges his head at Aang. "Uh, no. Him"

Aang breaks right out of his cuffs and raises his arms. "Over here." Then the idiot reattaches them like nothing happened.

"What does it matter your highness? They're enemies of the state." That Long Feng is just begging for a fireball in the face.

"Perhaps you're right." Then the king sees his pet bear sniffing a laughing Aang. And that makes the king smile. "Although Bosco seems to like him. I'll hear what he has to say."

Aang steps forward. "Well sire, there's a war going on right now. For the past one hundred years in fact. The Dai Li's kept it secret from you. It's a conspiracy to control the city, and to control you."

The king is incredulous. "A secret war? That's crazy!"

"Completely!" I glare at Long Feng, but he doesn't shrink even a little.

Aang continues. "Long Feng didn't want us to tell you, so he stole our sky bison to blackmail us. And blackmail is the least of his crimes, he brainwashed our friend."

"All lies, I've never even seen a sky bison, Your Magesty. Frankly, I thought they were extinct." Long Feng lies through his teeth, making me even angrier. In fact, I'm surprised that my hair isn't bursting into flames.

The king starts to doubt us again. "Your claim is difficult to believe. Even from an Avatar."

Long Fen whispers something in the king's ear, and the king thinks for a moment. "I have to trust my advisor."

The Dai Li agents start trying to take us away, but Sokka gets a brilliant idea. "Wait! I can prove he's lying. Long Feng said that he's never seen a sky bison. Ask him to lift his robe."

"What? I am not disrobing!" Long Feng looks scandalized and worried. And he should be worried, because I can see exactly where Sokka is going with this.

Aang exchanges a look with Sokka, then blows a gust of air that lifts up Long Feng's robes, revealing the large bite mark on his leg, left there by our furry friend. "Right there! Appa bit him!"

Sokka smirks. "Never met a sky bison, huh?"

Long Feng pushes his robes back down. That happens to be a large birthmark. Thanks for showing everyone."

I start giggling at the sight of the mark. "Oh Appa, such a good boy. And Long Feng, I hope you like the mark, since I'm the one who told Appa to bite you. You had it coming, after you locked him up in an underground cage. If you're going to lie, make it more convincing."

The king looks a little unconvinced. Well I suppose there's no way to prove where those marks came from."

"Of course there is!" Sokka's excitement is going through the roof, and he must have this whole scenario already played out in his head, because he gets Aang to show the king Appa's teeth.

The king examines the teeth and the mark, then nods. "Yup. That pretty much proves it." There's cheering around the room at that. We've won the first round. But then he becomes skeptical again. "But it doesn't prove this crazy conspiracy theory." That bums us out a little, until he pipes up again. "Though, I suppose this matter's worth looking into."

I sigh. "Finally, someone's reasonable about this." I grin at Sokka. "I suppose that you've got a few things in mind to show the king."

He nods. "Yes, I do. Now let's go!"

* * *

So we put the king on a train to the outer wall, and he acts like a tourist. He's never even been outside the palace before. It brings a whole new meaning to the word sheltered. But I prefer flying on Appa with Aang, so I stick it out in the air even without the saddle.

We arrive at Lake Laogai, and Toph moves to the shore of the lake, using her earthbending to bring up the entrance. But when it appreas, it's been wrecked, leaving no evidence that there ever was an entrance. "It's gone!"

Sokka looks like he's going to explode. "Oh don't tell me-!" He quickly calms himself and smiles. "That's okay. Still got my positive attitude."

Katara is frustrated as well. "The Dai Li must have known we were coming and destroyed the evidence!"

:Hm…" The king is looking doubtful again. "That seems awfully convenient."

"Sokka moves to defend himself. "Hey, if anything, this proves the conspiracy exists even more."

The king shakes his head. "Long Feng was right. This was a waste of time." He turns to leave. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going back to the palace."

"The wall." Katara smiles. "They'll never be able to cover that up in time."

"Oh yeah." Aang hops over to the king. "If you come with us to the outer wall, we can prove to you that the secret war is real."

The king looks scandalized. "No Earth King has ever been to the outer wall. I don't have any more time for this nonsense."

I cross my arms. "It's not nonsense, and that's what we're trying to show you. Unless you want to remain ignorant and in the dark, you'll humor us and let us show you what happened at the wall. Do that, and we'll let you ride on Appa." The king's eyes widen, then I turn to Aang. "By the way, what did happen at the wall? It must have happened before I met back up with you guys."

Aang nods. "You'll see when we get there. And trust me, you're not going to like it."

* * *

The king's curiosity gets the best of him and he comes along on Appa as we fly to the outer wall. But since he's a first time flier, he shrieks and screams most of the way to the wall. Finally he calms down and crawls over to right behind where Aang is sitting. "I have to be honest with you, part of me really hopes that what you're telling me about this war isn't true."

Aang becomes a bit solemn. "I wish it wasn't."

That's something we all wish for. If it weren't true, Sokka and Katara's tribe would be full of waterbenders and they wouldn't have lost their mother, and their men wouldn't have gone off to war. Toph wouldn't have gotten dragged into this mess. Aang wouldn't be the last airbender. And I wouldn't have lost my family. I would be living happily as a Fire Nation princess.

We fly to the wall, and what I see is terrifying. Aang, on the other hand, is delighted to see it. "It's still there!"

The king is shocked. "What is that?"

"It's a drill. A giant drill made by the Fire Nation to break through your walls." Sokka's callous way of putting that horrifies the king.

We land on the wall, and I look over the edge at the monstrosity that is partly embedded in the huge stone walls of the city. "Hey…I'm actually kind of glad that I missed out on this little adventure. That does not look like it was fun to take down."

"It wasn't." Toph leans on the wall, frowning. "It was a lot of work, and you wouldn't have been able to do a thing."

I fume, while the king looks over the side of the wall. "I can't believe I never knew."

Long Feng takes that chance to appear, no doubt here to defend himself with more lies. "I can explain this, Your Magesty. This is nothing more than…a construction project." But he could have come up with something better than that.

Katara isn't taking that bullshit. "Really? Then perhaps you could explain why there's a Fire Nation insignia on your construction project."

Long Feng thinks on his feet. "Well it's imported of course. You know you can't trust domestic machinery." He appeals to the king, who is visibly losing faith in his advisor. "Surely you don't believe these children instead of your most loyal attendant?"

The king looks at us, then at Long Feng, then points at the leader of the Dai Li. "Dai Li! Arrest Long Feng! I want him to stand trial for crimes against the Earth Kingdom!" And at the Earth King's command, the Dai Li make a show of arresting the traitor, and taking him away.

* * *

We return to the palace with the king, and now, he's fully willing to listen to us. "I want to thank you, young heroes, for opening my eyes. All this time, what I thought was a great metropolis, was merely a city of fools. And that makes me the king fool." He buries his face in his hands in despair. "We're at war with the Fire Nation."

Sokka makes his case. "That's why we came to Ba Sing Se, Your Higness. Because we think you can help us end the war."

"We don't have much time." Aang steps up to explain the situation. "There's a comet coming this summer. Its energy will give the firebenders unbelievable strength. They'll be unstoppable." Then Aang glances at me. "And only one member of our group will benefit from the comet. Ciara is our only firebender."

"But there is hope." Sokka smiles. "Before the comet comes, we have a window of opportunity. A solar eclipse is coming. The sun will be completely blocked out by the moon, and the firebenders will be helpless."

The king is now interested. "What are you suggesting Sokka?"

"That's the day we need to invade the Fire Nation. The Day of Black Sun."

Now the king is nervous. "I don't know, that would require moving troops out of Ba Sing Se. We'd be completely vulnerable."

"You're already vulnerable. The Fire Nation won't stop until Ba Sing Se falls. You can either sit back and wait for that to happen, or take the offensive and give yourself a fighting chance."

Then the king nods. "Very well. You have my support."

Then, as we're celebrating, a soldier arrives. "Your Majesty. I apologize for the interruption."

The king nods. "This is General How. He's the leader of the Council of Five, my highest ranking generals."

The general nods to us. "We searched Long Feng's office. I think we found something that will interest everybody."

We accompany him to the office, where he takes out a box of papers. "There are secret files on everyone in Ba Sing Se. Including you kids."

"Secret files?" Aang is curious, but I'm more concerned than curious. Concerned about how accurate the information might be.

The king takes a piece of paper and hands it to How. "Toph Beifong."

The general hands it to Katara, who reads it. "It's a letter from your mom. Your mom's here in the city. And she wants to see you."

Toph looks shocked. "Long Feng intercepted our letters from home? That's just sad." She shakes her head at the stupidity of Long Feng's petty antics.

The king finds another scroll. "Aang?"

How nods. "This scroll was attached to the horn of your bison when the Dai Li captured it."

Aang takes the scroll and opens it. "It's from the Eastern Air Temple."

Katara looks at how hopefully. "Is there a letter for me and Sokka by any chance?"

The king looks in the box, shuffling a few papers around. "I'm afraid not."

The two of them look upset, but How interrupts. "But there is an intelligence report that might interest you." He hands a scroll to Katara, and she opens it. "A small fleet of Water Tribe ships."

Sokka looks over her shoulder. "What? That could be Dad!"

Katara keeps reading. "Protecting the mouth of Chameleon Bay. Led by Hakoda. It is Dad!" I smile happily at the two of them. I know that they've missed their father, and now, they know where he is.

How turns to me. "This package is for you. The address it came from says that it's from the Si Wong Desert. The letter attached said that whoever sent the package had recovered your belongings."

I open the package quickly, and find my pack inside, with everything in it, my clothes, my map, and my tiara, along with my knives. "Good, I was worried that I would have to trek out into the desert to get this back." I nod to How. "Thank you."

So, it's decided that we're going to split up, despite how badly Aang wants to keep our family together. Toph will go see her mother, Aang will go to the Eastern Air Temple to meet the guru, and on the way, he can drop Sokka and Katara off at Chameleon Bay on the way.

But Sokka gets serious. "Someone needs to stay here and help the Earth King plan for the invasion." Then he stands up. "I guess that's me."

But Katara shakes her head. "No, Sokka. I know how badly you wanna help Dad. You go to Chameleon Bay. I'll stay here with the king." Then she looks at me. "So, are you going to stay as well? We could use your surprisingly vast collection of knowledge and expertise."

I nod. "Alright, I'll stay and help plan for the attack."

So, with our course of action decided, we girls will be staying in the city, while the boys go off on their man-trip. It also turns out that the Kiyoshi warriors have arrived, and the king, after hearing how they're friends of ours, plans to welcome them with open arms. And since we're not going to see each other for a while, we all have a big group hug and split off from there.

I accompany the general into a private room and start giving him all of the information that I've collected over the course of my travels with Aang and the others, as well as what I know about the country of my ancestors.


	32. The Crossroads of Destiny

Katara and I get to attend the war meetings with the five generals, and the discussions are, for lack of a better word, stimulating, with How at the head. "General Fong's base will serve as the launching point for the attack. In exactly two months, the army and navy will invade the Fire Nation on the Day of Black Sun."

Momo jumps all over the war table, and Katara snickers. "Or we could just send Momo in to do some damage! Cause the…sorry." She realizes how silly she sounds, and quiets down.

How earthbends a scroll over to her. "All we need is the Earth King's seal in order to execute the plan."

Katara stands up. "I'll get these scrolls to him right away. Thank you, General How" And while she leaves the war room, I stay.

I address the generals. "I'm sure that you are all aware by now that I'm a traveling companion and member of Team Avatar, as we've begun to call ourselves. And you're probably also aware of the fact that I am a firebender."

How looks at me and nods. "Yes, I've heard that. Though I'm uncertain as to why a firebender is traveling with the Avatar."

I sigh and look him right in the eyes. "Are you aware of Sozin's coup a hundred and five years ago? Where he unified the Fire Nation under his banner?

The general's eyes narrow. "Hasn't the Fire Nation been united for hundreds of years?"

I shake my head, but the oldest general stops me. "It's true. The Fire Nation was once split into the mainland, and the islands of the archipelago. The two were governed by separate monarchs, the Fire Lord in the West, and the Phoenix King of the Eastern Isles in the archipelago. They were equal in power, but the ruler of the east was against conflict, and his family suddenly disappeared a few years before Sozin launched his first campaign. At least, that is what my grandfather told me."

I nod. "And can you guess what happened to that family?"

He scratches his chin. "Perhaps killed or imprisoned. They were never heard from again."

I shake my head and touch the golden ornament that I placed in my hair this morning. "Exiled. Branded as traitors and exiled to the Earth Kingdom. Of course, that was after most of them were massacred. Only a handful managed to escape the massacre, and they were sent away to this land, never to be seen again."

"Do you know where they are?" How looks at me hopefully. "Perhaps they could lend us their knowledge of Fire Nation military secrets."

I look at him sadly. "Yes, I know the location. Right in front of you." They look at me, confused. So I sigh and hold up my hand, filling it with golden fire. "The only survivor of the final massacre a decade ago is sitting right in front of you. My name is Ciara, daughter of Raikon, and the heiress of the Flame of the Rising Sun. And I will give you any and all information I can at our next meeting, I believe that this one is finished for the day."

The generals nod and I stand up and take my leave. I go out for a walk around the upper ring, and I notice that a new tea shop has opened. It intrigues me, so I go inside and a hostess asks me if I would like a table for one. I look inside and see two very familiar faces.

I smile and walk inside, and I sit at a table right near the counter. I grin at Iroh's back and wait for him to turn around before I laugh. "Hello, it's nice to see you so close by."

Iroh nearly drops his teapot. "Ciara, it is good to see you as well. What are you doing here?"

"I was just in the palace talking with some of the generals. And now that I'm free, I thought I would go for a walk. I happened across the shop, and I took a look inside and saw the two of you." I glance over at Zuko. "He looks happier, that's good."

"Should I call him over? He will be happy to see you too."

I shake my head. "It's alright, leave him be. He'll come over here when he feels like it." Then I turn to Iroh. "But I could do with-"

He puts a plate of tarts and a pot of raspberry tea in front of me. "Your favorite tea and desserts?"

I laugh lightly. "Thank you. I've even told His Majesty about your tea-making skills. I'm sure he would love it if you came to the palace and made something for him."

Tears leak from Iroh's eyes. "Oh, you are so sweet. It's like having a sweet little granddaughter who loves my stories, tea and cakes."

I giggle. "Except that I'm the same age as your nephew."

"Ciara?" I turn around at the sound of Zuko's voice, and I see him standing right there. "So it is you. I wondered who my uncle was talking to over here."

I smirk. "Well, wonder no longer. I'm here for some raspberry tea and fruit tarts."

Zuko smiles, which is weird, but it's really cute too. And his hair has grown out so that it hangs over his forehead and over his ears a little. His whole demeanor has changed as well, and I have to say, it's an improvement, but it's also a little too far in one direction. He seems to be a scale that someone is trying to set right, but keeps adding too much each time.

But he decides to be a gracious host. "Is there anything else you would like?"

I smile brightly at him. "No. I'm fine with my tea and fruit tarts. And I can't spend all afternoon here, despite how tempting it is. If I don't return to the palace soon, the king will probably have his guards out searching for me."

His eyes widen. "The king? You're living in the palace now?"

I nod. "Only for now. I'm sure that I'll be off gallivanting around the world again soon enough. But yes, I'm living in the palace right now, and the king likes keeping me close, probably because I entertained his bear with my little puppet show."

I munch on a couple of fruit tarts and watch as Zuko gets back to work serving tea to the afternoon crowd. And by the time I'm finished my tarts, he's got no more tables to wait, and he comes back to mine.

He picks up the empty plate and cup. "Did you enjoy it?"

"Yes, I did." I giggle a little. "Anyway, I should be going, I've been out of sight too long, and who knows what kind of trouble Katara and Momo will get into if I'm gone too long."

I leave a few coins on the table and I shoot the two of them a smile before I walk out of the shop. I return quickly to the palace and find myself walking around it late at night. But that proves to be a very dangerous thing to do, as I'm suddenly surrounded by Dai Li agents. And since I would rather not burn down the palace, I'm seriously hampered.

They shoot bits of rock at me, so I make use of my agility to dodge dozens of their attempts. I run past a couple of them, and dodge them again by running up the wall and flipping over their heads. I land on top of one agent, taking him down, and giving me a chance to take down the next one with a hard kick to the stomach that sends him flying twenty feet.

"Don't underestimate me!" I growl at them, angry that they would attack me in the palace.

The one commanding them approaches me. "I apologize. I did underestimate you. It will not happen again." He raises his hand and makes a strange gesture.

The agents all take up a circular position around me, some of them even on the ceiling. I look around, angry. _Trapped, damn it._ I raise my hands, ready to fight, but I know it's useless. And several spires of rock shoot out of the ground, surrounding me. I bite my lip angrily, and I make one last attempt to escape, before the spires all slam together, smashing me between them and knocking me out.

* * *

I wake up with a throbbing headache, and aches all over. I push myself into a sitting position and rub my head, stopped only by the ornament still firmly curled into my hair. I open my eyes and look around, only to be met with a huge cavern filled with glowing green crystals.

Then, I spot Katara sitting against a rock, sleeping. I crawl over to her and shake her. "Katara! Wake up!"

She stirs and blinks a few times. "Ciara? What are you doing here?"

I groan and touch my head. "The Dai Li got me in the palace. I couldn't fight them without bringing the whole place down, so they managed to get me. And where are we?"

"Under the palace. These caves go on for ever."

I groan again. "Great, I'm underground again. I hate being underground."

Then, a hole suddenly opens in the ceiling. "You've got company." A Dai Li agent pushes someone else into this prison with us and closes up the hole.

The person who falls down the chute is none other than Zuko. And Katara is not happy to see him, at all. So I hold out my hand and help him to his feet. "So, you got caught too?"

He nods. "How did they get you two?"

I shrug. "I got surrounded in the middle of the palace by the Dai Li. If I'd tried to escape using firebending, I would have burned down the whole palace. And last I checked, burning down palaces is rude. I tried to fight without it, but I was fighting a small army of elite earthbenders. The odds weren't in my favor."

But now that I'm done, Katara decides to vent her frustration on Zuko. "Why did they throw you in here?" But he stays silent, which makes her mad. "Oh, wait, let me guess. It's a trap. So that when Aang show up to help us, you can finally have him in your little Fire Nation clutches." He looks up at her, then at me, then down at the ground again. And Katara is still angry. "You're a terrible person! You know that? Always following us! Hunting the Avatar! Trying to capture the world's last hope for peace! But what do you care? You're the Fire Lord's son. Spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood."

'You don't know what you're talking about!" Finally, Zuko shows a little backbone.

But Katara is still pissed. "I don't? How dare you! You have no idea what this war has put me through! Me personally!" And now she sits and starts to cry. "The Fire Nation took my mother away from me."

That gets to Zuko, and he actually turns around to look at Katara, his voice soft. "I'm sorry…That's something we have in common."

I flick my eyes between the two of them. "Great, looks like this is just going to be depressing. You each lost your mothers, Aang lost his entire people, my family was slaughtered in front of my eyes when I was a child, and there's been a pointless war going on for the last century." Then I stretch my arms. "The world sucks; all we can do is try to survive long enough to make it a better place."

Katara looks at me with dry tears on her face. "That's right…you lost your whole family…I'm sorry, I was being insensitive, bringing up a topic like that…"

I let my gaze fall to the floor. "It's fine. I just hate this situation. I hate being underground, I feel like I'm suffocating. And for a firebender, that's pretty bad."

But my depressed state seems to have calmed Katara and Zuko down. And Katara approaches Zuko. "I'm sorry I yelled at you before."

He keeps his eyes on the ground. "It doesn't matter."

"It's just that for so long now, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face." Katara sounds a little sad, but she has no idea how bad what she just said was.

Zuko touches his face, feeling his scar. "My face? I see."

Finally, she realizes how bad what she said is. "No, no, that's-that's not what I meant."

"It's okay. I used to think this scar marked me. The mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever. But lately, I've realized that I'm free to determine my own destiny, even if I'll never be free of my mark." And now, he sounds ever so slightly hopeful. And that's good.

"Maybe you could be free of it." And I have to wonder what Katara is planning, saying that and getting Zuko's hopes up.

Zuko is confused. "What?"

Katara holds up her hand. "I have healing abilities."

He shakes his head. "It's a scar, it can't be healed."

Then, Katara holds up the vial of spirit water from the North Pole. "This is water from the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole. It has special properties, so I've been saving it for something important." She moves close to Zuko and I feel a little light-headed all of a sudden. "I don't know if it would work but…" She puts a hand on Zuko's scar.

Then, Aang and Iroh come crashing in quite violently, in a rain of rock and shattered crystal. I get to my feet and brush some dirt from my clothes. "Finally, it's about time you showed up Aang."

"Aang!" Katara forgets Zuko completely and rushes over to give Aang a hug. And Iroh goes over to give Zuko a hug, while Aang glares daggers at Zuko.

Then Katara gives Aang a second hug. "Aang, I knew you would come."

"Uncle, I don't understand. What are you doing with the Avatar?" Zuko points at Aang with hostility and confusion.

Aang turns to Zuko. "Saving you, that's what."

Zuko tries to rush at Aang, but Iroh stops him. "Zuko, it's time we talked." Then Iroh turns to us. "Go help your other friends. We'll catch up with you. And Ciara, be careful not to get your tiara dirty."

I roll my eyes. "Of course, I'll be careful." And I rush off after Aang and Katara. And now, our mission is to find Sokka and Toph.

* * *

Unfortunately, a minor distraction comes calling, and I deflect a fire blast that Azula aims at us. Katara pulls some water from the canal and goes after Azula, only putting her down for a moment. Azula fires a few more blasts that I deflect, and she lands on a rock pillar. Aang destroys her footing, and she lands between the three of us, pointing her hands at Katara and Aang.

But, to complicate matters, Zuko arrives with a blast of fire. And it seems that he still hasn't picked his target, since he seems to be wavering between attacking Azula, and attacking Aang. And as if to rub salt in the wound, our earlier truce means nothing as he goes after Aang, using whips of fire to chase Aang around, shatter the crystals on the walls of the cave.

With Zuko fighting Aang, and Azula dueling Katara, I decide that it isn't yet the right time for me to step in. I will trust my instincts and only step in when the time is right. My timing must be perfect if we're all going to get out of here. And I watch as the two pairs trade partners, and Katara angrily fights Zuko, while Aang tries to take on Azula in rock crystal armor.

But when Katara gets knocked out, Aang gets angry. He comes rolling in on a mound of rock and goes after the royal siblings. But one of the Dai Li knocks him off the mound and he goes flying. Dai Li agents gather around them and Aang decides to seclude himself in a crystal tent.

I sigh and look at Katara on the ground. "Katara, protect yourself, make a shield of water and stay there. Trust me, what is about to happen is not something that you want to let touch you." She looks scared, but does as I tell her and makes a dome of water around her and Aang. Then I turn to Zuko, Azula and the Dai Li. "It's a good thing that we're underground. This way, I won't accidentally destroy anything important."

Zuko's eyes go wide, and Azula's narrow as she glares at me. "And who are you to think that you stand a chance against the princess of the Fire Nation?"

I breathe in and out slowly, and then my eyes flick to her, my gaze hard like diamonds. "Don't speak to me as if you believe yourself superior to me. I was born with power that you can't imagine. Even I don't know its limits. But today, I'll give you a small taste of it."

Golden fire swirls around me in rings and small bursts. And now, my expression becomes fierce, and my flames destructive as they encase me and rise upwards, making a huge phoenix made of golden fire. I leap into the air and land right in the middle of the Dai Li. Some of the smarter ones back away, but the stupid ones start firing rocks at me. The phoenix swoops around me, as though dancing through the air, and disintegrates every rock they throw at me.

Azula glares at me. "What the hell are you?"

I smirk and look at her. "Heiress of the Flames of the Rising Sun, Princess of the Eastern Isles, Ciara, daughter of Prince Raikon. And just like you, I'm a princess of the Fire Nation. But unlike you, I was not born in luxury. I fought for my life after my family was massacred by your father. I taught myself to survive, using the ancient firebending arts that my father passed down to me. The arts of the golden fire that I wield."

Azula sticks her nose up at me. "You're not a princess, you're not my equal."

And at that, I put my hands on my hips and glare at her. "Of course I'm not. Equating yourself with me is an insult to me. I don't care if you're some firebending prodigy. You need to grow up before you think about really taking me on." Then I turn to Zuko. "And if you intend to fight me as well, then I will strike you down without hesitation. Because I have a new family now, and as long as I can fight, I won't let you take them away from me."

Fire explodes outwards from my body, slamming into all of them and knocking the Dai Li against the walls, hard. Zuko and Azula stay on their feet, but just barely. Then, I go in to strike. I weave right between the two of them, and spin quickly, grabbing them both and hurling them in opposite directions in less than a second. Then, I go after Azula, since I deem her to be a more hostile threat than Zuko. She punches at me, but I catch her fist and slam my own into her stomach before jumping back, flipping head over heels, and landing perfectly, like a dancer.

Zuko comes charging at me, so I let him get close. But then, just as his strike nearly connects, a brief flash of emotion crosses his face and he hesitates. I dodge the blow easily and knee him in the stomach before quickly spinning and kicking him across the cave.

Azula starts shooting blasts of fire at me, so I return some blasts of my own. They overwhelm hers easily and start tearing the cave apart, crashing the crystal stalactites all over. I feel my body heating up drastically, which just gives me more energy. I stand in the middle of the cave, slowing down my breathing and calming myself. I've gotten a little too worked up, and that's bad for keeping control of my power. I force the power back inside me and the fiery phoenix disappears.

Azula and Zuko manage to stumble to their feet, and I look at them, rather bored. "If you're going to do nothing but be punching bags for me, then please, just sit down and stop. If I'm going to fight, then I would rather enjoy it. And I'm not enjoying this."

But before either of them can answer me, a bright flash of light emanates from behind me. I turn around and see that it's coming from Aang. He's gone into the Avatar state again. It's stunning, and the waves of power coming from him are immense. But then, I realize that Azula noticed it as well and got away. I see her aim a lightning bolt at Aang, and I make my own bolt of lightning to try and stop hers, but I'm an instant too late. The lightning bolt hits Aang in the back and shocks him right out of the Avatar State.

Aang starts falling from the air, and Katara goes to catch him. I glare at Azula and compose myself, then I shoot a bolt of lightning at her, which she just barely dodges. Pain rips through my body and I fall to my knees in pain. But I ready another lightning bolt, and before I can shoot it, Iroh appears next to me and shakes his head. "Do not get Azula's blood on your hands in your condition. She is not worth your anger. I will hold them off, but you have to go." He turns to Katara. "You've got to get out of here; I'll hold them off as long as I can! Take the Avatar and Princess Ciara, and go! They need your help!"

Zuko and Azula approach us, but Iroh shoots fire at them and keeps them away from us. I glance ruefully at Zuko, who holds my gaze for a moment, before looking away from me. I bite my cheek and click my tongue disdainfully, before turning back to Katara and Aang. She makes a stream of water that raises the three of us out of the caves and onto the surface.

Sokka comes flying over on Appa and Katara notices that I'm bent over in pain. But her first concern is Aang, and she uses the water from the Spirit Oasis on him. The water glows as she applies it to his back, then loses the glow and she thinks that she failed. Until Aang's tattoos glow and he stirs. But only once, because he quickly falls asleep and refuses to wake up.

* * *

Sokka flies us away from the city to a safe place where we can land and have Katara treat me. The others assume that I'm injured from the fight, but it's not true, and Katara seems to know that, so she take me out of earshot of the others. "Ciara, what's wrong with you?"

I groan in pain and untie my outer shirt. Then I take off my inner shirt and show Katara the metal spikes that have been pounded into my back. "This is how the Fire Nation marked my family. It is a curse on firebenders, and it's been increasing the danger to my life since I was six years old. The metal is pounded into my back, and deep into the muscles. And if the metal, which migrates towards my organs with time, manages to get to them, I'll be torn apart from the inside out. There is nothing I can do to stop it."

"Ciara…" Katara sounds so sad. "Why didn't you say anything before?"

"Because it's my problem, it's not within my power, or your power, to reverse, and telling you all would just make you worry about me." I grit my teeth, bearing the pain as best I can. "There's nothing anyone can do to help me. So there's no point in dwelling on it."

She clicks her tongue and starts applying healing water to my back. "Does this at least make some of the pain go away?"

I nod. "Yeah, the pain is fading. But the problem persists." Once she's done, I slide my shirts back on. "Just please don't tell the others. I don't want them getting worried and distracted over me."

"Alright, but tell me if you ever feel pain again. I'll do whatever I can to help."

"Fine. Anyway, we need to get back to the others."

We return to Appa and get back on, flying all the way to the Water Tribe fleet at the mouth of Chameleon Bay. We land in a hurry and the Earth King, Kuei, decides that he wants to travel the world in disguise. So he and his bear shed their royal clothes, put on something a little more normal, and gallop off into the sunset.


	33. Preparing the Invasion

We head to Chameleon Bay, where Sokka and Katara's father and his ships are docked. We get off Appa, and a man approaches us. "Sokka, what's going on?"

Sokka shakes his head. "We lost. The Fire Nation has Ba Sing Se."

"I see." He frowns, then turns to us. "And these are your friends?"

A guilty smile crosses Sokka's face. "Yeah. The short one with the bare feet is Toph, Aang's earthbending teacher. She's also called the Blind Bandit at Earth Rumble Six." The description doesn't please Toph much, so she earthbends a little rock under Sokka's foot, nearly toppling him over. He glares a little at her, then continues. "And this here is Ciara. She's a firebender, but she's also one of the most trustworthy people I've ever met. She's strong, she's smart, and together, we can come up with some serious plans. And of course, the bald one with the tattoos is Aang, the Avatar. He's in bad shape, he got hit with some lightning during the battle in Ba Sing Se, and we need to give him time to rest. Away from here." Then Sokka turns to me. "Ciara, this is my dad."

The man nods. "I am Hakoda of the Water Tribe, and this is our fleet. I suggest that we get moving. If Ba Sing Se has fallen, then it's not safe for us to be here any longer."

I nod. "I agree. We need to retreat and regroup, and come up with another plan. We won't be able to depend on the Earth King's forces now, so we need to find another way to mount our invasion of the Fire Nation. We've got two months until the eclipse. We need to make that time count."

Hakoda frowns. But on the day of the eclipse, won't you lose your firebending?"

"Yes." I figure that there's no reason to be shy about it. "I'll lose my firebending, but I'm more than capable of fighting without it. I spent most of my life hiding the fact that I'm a firebender, and I've survived this long. I would think that says something for my skills." I look out to the bay. "Now, we're going to have to hurry. No doubt Azula has called for reinforcements. There should be an armada headed this way soon. We need to leave before we get shut in."

Hakoda agrees. "I'll have the men move out immediately. Now come on, let's get you kids on a ship and hidden." And he leads us off to one of the ships, where we can hide Aang and Appa for a while.

* * *

We don't have much time before a whole fleet of Fire Nation ships comes our way, so the Water Tribe fleet heads north and escapes before they get completely blockaded by the oncoming ships. It's the best move for all of us.

But then, as we're passing away from the Fire Nation ships, I get a great idea. "Hey Sokka. Do you think that we could get around easier if we took over one of those ships?"

His eyes go wide. "Yeah, that could work. We definitely have the people to run it. Between me and Dad, we should be able to sail it, no problem. And it should provide a good cover. No one would suspect that we'd be sailing around on a Fire Nation ship. We don't have enough people to crew an armada, but we should be able to do one ship."

I nod. "Exactly what I had in mind. Then consider that small one on the far right ours." I run along the shore, staying low and climbing up a cliff that gives me good access to the main deck. I roll off the cliff and onto the main deck, quickly silencing the guard that's posted there.

In short order, I make my way inside, silencing all of the guards and engineers, as well as the captain and what remains of the crew. I guess silently tracking prey through the woods has turned me into a good stealth fighter.

Once my mission is complete, I signal Sokka, and he has everyone else get on board. We quickly dispose of the crew, leaving them on the shore, unconscious. And Sokka gives me a high five. "That was awesome! How did you pull that off?"

"I got on, snuck around, and took them down one at a time, quickly, before any of them could sound and alarm." I shrug. "It's easier than hunting deer; at least soldiers don't run away when faced with a girl."

Sokka pats me on the back, and Hakoda, his father, looks at me approvingly. "That was well done. I can see why Sokka thinks so highly of you."

"Thank you. But everyone on our team has something to contribute. Stealth skills, hunting and firebending are my contribution." Then I glance at Sokka and grin. "I'm also the big sister who breaks up all the fights in our little family. You wouldn't believe how many arguments Katara manages to have with either Sokka or Toph."

"I see. Then it is very nice to meet you, Ciara." He bows a little and heads off to see to the running of the ship. A few of his men come on board as well, and make sure to tie up the unconscious soldiers, before transporting them off the ship and leaving them in the woods by the shore. That way, we haven't killed anyone, and we still have the ship for ourselves. They also won't be able to tell anyone who took the ship, seeing as I was very careful not to let them see my face, and I was the only one carrying out that mission. In short, they have no idea what hit them.

* * *

We start sailing towards the western coast of the Earth Kingdom, and after a couple of days, we run into two of the Freedom Fighters, Pipsqueak and The Duke. They happily join our team when we ask them to. And so, we start on our recruitment of allies for what Sokka and I are calling the Mini-Invasion of the Fire Nation. We send letters out to all corners of the Earth Kingdom, as well as to the Northern Air Temple, to Teo and his father. At this point, we're trying to round up as many allies as we can get, out of all of the friends we've made in our travels.

We spend a few weeks traveling around, waiting for Aang to finally wake up, as well as taking the time to plan out as many of the details surrounding the eclipse as possible. Eclipses don't last very long, so we have to use our time wisely. And when the actual eclipse is happening, I won't be able to bend, so I take one of the double ended spears from the armory and spend three weeks straight learning how to use it, perfecting my style. I train from dawn until dusk, and Katara's healing powers get a workout, as she often has to heal my hands because of all the cuts, callouses, bruises and blisters my hands get from all of the training.

But the pain is worth it. I can fight, I can grow stronger, I can prove that I am more than just a firebender that people hate. I can rise above my past, I can rise above the pain and sadness and loneliness. And most importantly, now, I can protect my friends.


	34. The Awakening

But one afternoon, there is a commotion on the deck while Sokka and I are in the control tower obsessing over maps. And when we look out the control tower's windows and see who it is Sokka smiles at me and I grin back at him. "He's up!" We grab the maps and excitedly sprint down the stairs and onto the deck.

Sokka goes up to Aang and hugs him. "Aang, good to see you back with the living, buddy!"

"Sokka?" Then Aang looks over at me. "Ciara?" Then he starts tipping forward and Toph freaks out. "Uh-oh, somebody catch him, he's going to fall."

And just in time, I slide into the right position and catch him against my chest. "Alright Aang, you go to sleep." I stroke his hair, which has gown about half an inch now.

About ten minutes later, he wakes up again and asks for answers. "Why are we on a Fire Nation ship? Why is everyone dressed this way? And why am I the only one who's completely out of it?"

The rest of us leave it to Katara to explain everything to Aang, since she might be able to keep him calm enough to see the logic in the situation. And I return with Sokka to the control tower to continue going over some maps.

I point to a spot on the map. "These islands here are rich in fishing territory, so they're bad locations to keep a navy."

"Hm…then what about here?" He points to another island.

I nod. "Yeah, these islands supposedly have a lot of cliffs. They're perfect for hiding a fleet." I draw a trail with my fingers. "If we take this route in, no one should have any idea that we're there."

We spend a while longer discussing strategy, geography, maps, and all sorts of variables. In short, we're just going over everything that could help us avoid getting caught before we can mount the invasion. If we're caught, then this will all be for nothing.

* * *

After Aang has a chance to rest and a new day starts, Sokka gets around to telling him about what we've done since leaving Ba Sing Se. "After what happened at Ba Sing Se, we had to get you to safety. We flew back to Chameleon Bay where we found my father and the other Water Tribe men. The Earth King decided he wanted to travel the world in disguise, so he set off alone. Well, not completely alone." No kidding, he left with his bear. "Soon, the bay was overrun by Fire Nation ships. Rather than fight them all, Ciara snuck onto a ship, knocked out the entire crew, and we boarded the ship, taking it for ourselves to use as a disguise. Since then, we've been traveling west. We crossed through the Serpent's Pass a few days ago. We've seen a few Fire Nation ships, but none have bothered us."

"So what now?" Aang looks at us quizzically.

"We've been working on a modified version of the invasion plan." Hakoda smiles as he eats his food, looking very happy with our progress.

Katara, on the other hand, is still mad at her father. "It's Sokka and Ciara's invasion plan."

Hakoda looks a little put out by Katara's coldness. "Yes, Sokka and Ciara's plan. We won't be able to mount a massive invasion without the Earth King's armies, but the solar eclipse will still leave the Fire Nation vulnerable."

"And now, Sokka gets to shine. "So we're planning a smaller invasion. Just a ragtag team of our friends and allies from around the Earth Kingdom. We already ran into Pipsqueak and The Duke."

The two ex-Freedom Fighters look up from their food and wave. "Good to see you again, Aang."

Then I smile at Aang. "If you haven't noticed, we've got a habit of making some very interesting and powerful friends, usually by accident. So we've been sending messages out to them, trying to get together as many of them as possible."

Then Sokka gets even more excited. "And the best part is, the eclipse isn't even our biggest advantage. We have a secret, you."

"Me?" Now Aang looks really confused.

"Yep, the whole world thinks you're dead! Isn't that great?" Sokka feels that it's something to celebrate, but I'm not so sure.

Aang loses it. "The world thinks I'm dead? How is that good news? That's terrible!"

Sokka tries to calm him down. "No, it's great! It means that the Fire Nation won't be hunting us anymore! And even better, they won't be expecting you on the Day of Black Sun!

Aang refuses to calm down at all. "No, no, no, no, no. You have no idea. This is so messed up!"

But we have bigger problems than Aang right now, another ship is coming. Aang wants to fight them. "I'll handle this. The Avatar is back." He opens his glider, but groans in pain. He's still not fully healed, that will take more time.

"Aang, wait! They don't know we're not Fire Nation!" Katara grabs onto Aang, almost pleading with him to stand down. And bitterly, Aang puts his glider away.

Hakoda approaches is. "Everyone just stay calm. Bato and I will take care of this."

I pull Sokka, Katara, Toph and Aang into the cargo bay just as another ship pulls up beside us. Hakoda and Bato take care of the talking. And right when it looks like the commander of the other ship is convinced, it all goes to hell.

Toph leaps onto the deck. "They know!" She metalbends the ramp into the water and sends all three of them into the ocean. Then Katara bends a wave between our ship and theirs. We take off quickly, hoping to outrun them.

I should have known that it wouldn't be so easy, the other ship starts to pursue us, and they start firing on us. Aang wants to help fight, but Sokka and I hold him back. So Pipsqueak helps Toph earthbend some boulders at the other ship, destroying their catapult. Unfortunately, they get a harpoon into our hull and we start taking water. So Katara freezes the hull of the ship, plugging up the hole. That's the beauty of having so many benders on the boat, we're prepared for anything.

"I'm gonna give us some cover!" Katara runs to the side of the ship and uses her waterbending to bring up a smokescreen of dense fog.

We still get hit with a fireball, so I run out onto the deck and start shooting lightning at the oncoming fireballs.

"How are we doing?" Toph runs up to me, and Sokka does as well.

"Things couldn't get much worse." And as if to contradict Sokka, a huge sea serpent comes out of the water. "The universe just loves proving me wrong, doesn't it?"

"You make it too easy." And yes, Sokka did make it too easy. And he made it easy for Toph to say that, too.

Then, by some miracle, the serpent gets smacked in the head with a fireball, and it goes to attack the other ship instead, wrapping itself around it. And Sokka basically gets on his knees. "Thank you, the universe!"

* * *

We dock in an Earth Kingdom port to resupply and get some dinner, but Aang doesn't want to come ashore with us. He's still sulking in his room about finding out that the world thinks he's dead. I mean, I understand the whole Avatar needing to stand for peace and balance and stuff, but some things are just out of his control. And the rumor mill happens to be one of those things.

But when we get back to the ship, Katara goes to check in on Aang, and she comes back to us with Appa. "Come on, Aang is gone, we need to go find him."

I hop on Appa immediately, taking the place on his head, since I'll be doing the flying. Everyone else climbs on, Sokka last since he goes to talk to his dad before getting on, and we fly through the light storm. Our best bet is to find the closest bit of land. So judging by our current position, that would be Roku's Island in the Fire Nation.

We fly for hours, and finally, we find the island just after dawn. And there, near the base of the volcano, I catch sight of Aang. "Alright, there he is, I'm bringing us down!"

I land us right near Aang, and we all run towards him, Momo getting there first and waking him up. Katara is ecstatic. "You're okay!"

We all rush him at once and smother him in a group hug. He sounds sad. "I have so much to do."

We break the hug and Katara puts her hands on his shoulders. "I know, but you'll have our help."

Toph goes all master on him and smirks. "You didn't think that you could get out of training by coming to the Fire Nation, did you?"

"What about the invasion?" Aang looks around at us with confusion.

Sokka smiles. "We'll join up with my dad and the invasion force on the day of the eclipse.

Then, Toph notices something that washed up on the shore. "Hey! What's…oh, it's your glider." And it's totally wrecked.

Aang sighs. "It's okay. If someone saw it, it would give away my identity. It's better for now that no one knows I'm alive." He takes his glider, goes up to a lava flow, and sticks it in, letting the glider catch fire and burn to ashes. And we climb back on Appa and leave the island.


	35. The Headband

Aang is on the lookout for somewhere for us to land. We've been flying for a while, and everyone is a little tired of traveling. "I think I see a cave below."

"Sh! Keep quiet!" Sokka focuses less on finding shelter, and more on keeping quiet. Aang airbends the cloud away as we land, and Sokka rolls his eyes. "Great job with the cloud camo, but next time, let's disguise ourselves as the kind of cloud that knows how to keep its mouth shut."

"Yeah, we wouldn't want a bird to hear us chatting up there and turn us in." Toph's eye rolling is quite a sight to behold, with her milky irises blending into the whites of her eyes.

Sokka pauses his scouting for a moment. "Hey, we're in enemy territory. Those are enemy birds." Frankly, I don't think the birds care who wins this war. They're probably the only true neutral party.

Eventually, we find a nice big cave next to the ocean. We check it out, and Sokka isn't too happy. "Well, this is it. This is how we'll be living until the invasion begins. Hiding in cave, after cave, after cave, after cave…"

"Sokka, we don't need to become cave people. What we need is some new clothes." Katara makes a good point. If it's a choice between stealing clothes and living in a cave out in the middle of nowhere, Sokka gets outvoted and we go off to find a place to steal clothes. I hate stealing, I always have. But it's this, or die, and I'm not fond of the thought of dying before we win this war.

So, we each pick out an outfit, and I find something kind of nice, It's a long sleeved top that exposes my stomach and lower back, but not my upper back where my brand is, and flowing pants that have a sash hanging down the front and back. I also grab a pair of boots, better for walking and running than those soft shoes.

Once I'm done getting dressed, I help Katara take down her hair and style it more like a Fire Nation girl. She turns around and smiles. "How do I look?"

Aang smiles, before noticing a problem. "Uh…your mom's necklace."

"Oh." She touches her necklace lightly. "Oh yeah. I guess it's pretty obviously Water Tribe isn't it?" She takes it off, and her neck looks a bit bare without it.

So, we go into town and find a stand that sells accessories, and then we all pick some stuff out. Katara picks out a pretty necklace, Toph gets a new headpiece, Sokka gets a tie for his top-knot, and I look around for something for my hair. Wearing my tiara here would be about as dangerous as Aang exposing his tattoos for everyone to see.

Finally, I settle on a special pin that fastens at the back of my head, so that I can keep most of my hair out of my face, except for my bangs, which provide a nice bit of shade for my eyes. It's almost summer, and we're in the Fire Nation, it doesn't get much sunnier than this.

Aang leads us through the city, freaking out people left and right with his outdated speech, like hotman and flameyo. I've never heard anyone say that, and my family had all sorts of weird slang. So when we head into a restaurant to get something to eat.

Aang looks at it distastefully. "Oh, we're going to a meat place?"

"Come on Aang, everyone here eats meat. Even the meat." Sokka points out a hippo-cow that's eating a pile of meat in the street. A little strange, but not uncommon.

I laugh a little. "Sorry Aang, I suppose that I should have warned you that meat is more of a staple here than vegetables."

* * *

After we leave, we find out that Aang is nowhere to be seen. We try looking around for a while, then decide to return to the cave and wait for Aang to come to us. And we wait nearly all day for him to finally come back. And for some reason, he looks happy.

Katara immediately starts fussing over him like a mother hen. "Where have you been? We've been worried sick."

"I got invited to play with some kids after school." Aang grins, all happy with himself.

Sokka freaks out immediately. "After what!?"

"I enrolled in a Fire Nation school, and I'm going back tomorrow."

Sokka can't believe his ears. "Enrolled in what?"

I roll my eyes. "Well, at least you're blending in. I wish that I could walk around wherever I liked. But if none of you guys are around, then guards might take an interest in me. And that's something I would rather avoid." Then I sigh and turn to Sokka. "If Aang wants to go to school, let him. As long as he doesn't get caught, he's basically just doing reconnaissance."

But, that doesn't end the argument, so I pull a blanket over my head and groan as I try to block them out long enough to fall asleep so that I don't have to hear them bickering any longer. That's the one problem with our family. The bickering is so damn annoying.

And to make things worse, Sokka and Katara have to go to Aang's school to meet with the headmaster because Aang got into some kind of fight on his second day of school. Though I suspect that it was less of a fight, and more of Aang just dodging someone who was trying to wail on him, and the perp landed on his own face.

When they get back, Sokka gives Aang a serious talking to. "That settles it! No more school for you, youngh man!

"I'm not ready to leave yet. I'm having fun for once, just being a normal kid. You don't know what it's like, Sokka. You get to be normal all the time." Toph laughs, but Aang isn't done. "Listen guys, those kids at school are the future of the Fire Nation. If we want to change this place for the better, we need to show them a little taste of freedom."

Sokka is still angry. "What could you possibly do for a country of depraved little fire monsters?"

Aang grins. "I'm gonna throw them a secret dance party!" He dances around a little just to make his point. And I think it's a good idea. Give the people a little taste of freedom, and they'll start thinking a little outside themselves for once.

* * *

So we set up the cave. I light candles, Toph makes stone platforms, Katara makes a fountain, and the whole place looks really awesome. Now we just need the people. Then, Toph goes on full alert. "They're coming! Everyone, stop bending!" And I usher Appa into the far end of the cave where he won't be seen.

The kids arrive, and some of them have musical instruments with them. I get them set up on the platforms and they start the music. But since me dancing would be a bad idea, I sit over by the fountain and let the water run over my fingers.

But none of the kids start dancing, so, Aang starts them off by showing them a couple of dances from the Fire Nation, and even some from the Earth Kingdom. I think it's funny to watch him dance. And I do my best to contain my laughter as Aang drags Katara onto the dance floor.

Everyone else stops dancing to turn and stare at Aang and Katara as they start to dance around each other. It starts off looking a bit like a duel, using kicks and punches as dance moves. And I suspect that they picked up this style by watching my movements during my duels with Katara at the North Pole, and when I dueled Azula and Zuko under Ba Sing Se.

Then Aang comes up to me and grins. "You should dance too Ciara!"

I try to refuse, but he grabs me and pulls me to the middle of the dance floor, then backs away to watch. And everyone is watching, so I roll my eyes and grin. "Alright, dancing it is."

I take a few moments to accustom myself to the music, swaying in time to the drum beats. Then, I start to move, I swirl through the air and twirl on the ground, and I step lightly back and forth, from one foot to the other, like a bird landing and taking off again. Then, I start getting excited. My movements speed up as my feet tap and twist on the ground. My hands fly through the air and flames flicker on my fingertips. I do a high backflip and twist to land on the ground, then lift my left leg high into the air, over my own head, and I sweep it around, before putting my hands on the floor and flipping over onto my feet again. This dance is one that my father taught me, a very old firebending form unique to my family.

With a last spin and flourish of my hand, my dance ends, and everyone is still staring at me. Then Aang starts clapping enthusiastically, and the whole cave bursts into a flurry of applause and cheers. But then, our little dance party gets crashed by a guy who must be the headmaster of the school, along with a few guards.

The kids usher us out the back way, saying that they'll distract the guards. So I lead the others out and Aang seals the cave wall behind us. We fly off on Appa, safe and sound. And since we're out of sight, Katara looks at Sokka. "We're safe, Sokka, you can take off the mustache mow."

He strokes the mustache and beard. "Oh, no I can't It's permanently glued to my face."

I roll my eyes and look at Aang. "That was awesome, I loved being able to dance like that. Usually, no one gets to see it. I feel like getting to show off my firebending forms was like finally being free."

He smiles brightly. "Well I liked seeing you dance. It was like you were a bird."

Toph smacks Aang on the back. "Way to go Dancy Pants. I think you really did help those kids, you taught them to be free."

He shrugs. "I don't know, it was just a dance party, that's all."

"Well, that was some dance party, Aang." Katara kisses him on the cheek, turning him bright red.

I smirk at the two of them. _This is going to be so much fun to watch…especially once they're old enough to start having a different kind of fun…_ I laugh quietly as we head off to the next island, getting ever closer to the mainland, and ever closer to the target of our invasion.


	36. The Painted Lady

We continue on and find ourselves next to a very polluted river. And of course, Aang goes and jumps around in it, despite how gross it looks. He pops back out. "Momo!" He pops down under the surface again, only to pop back out again. "Oh Momo!" Momo flies down to him and Aang laughs. "Hahahahahaha! You found me buddy!" And when he comes back up on Appa, I slide down to Appa's head and press myself against his fur as Aang airbends all of the sludge off, narrowly missing hitting me with it, and covering Katara, Toph and Sokka with it. "Hey guys, I think this river's polluted."

I scrunch up my sensitive nose. "No kidding, it smells terrible." Toph spits some sludge out of her mouth.

Sokka holds up his fishing line. "Well that explains why I can't catch a fish around here, because normally, my fishing skills are off the hook!" He dangles the hook in front of his face. "Get it? Like a fishing hook?"

Toph smirks. "Too bad your skills aren't on the hook."

I groan again. "Ugh, these jokes are terrible."

Katara sighs. "It looks like we'll need to go somewhere else to get food, assuming it'll fit into Sokka's master schedule."

And I stay out of Sokka's way when he brings out the master schedule that he came up with. "Hm…it's doable. But that means only two potty breaks today."

Then I point ahead of us. "Hey you guys, there's a town ahead, if you're really that hungry."

"Alright, land us." Aang sits down as I bring us down for a landing.

"So, how about this. The four of you go to the town and try to find something to eat, and I'll see if there is anything around here worth hunting. That way, we maximize our chances of getting something to eat. Agreed?" I look at Aang and Sokka, who nod.

So, after covering up Appa, we split up and I head into the hills to try and find something to eat. I spend all day hunting, and I finally come across some kind of boar that I've never seen before. So I bring it down and bleed it, then cover the blood with dirt so that it won't attract any wild animals. Then I heft it onto my back and haul it back to camp.

Once I get back to camp with it, I skin and gut it, chop it up, and hand all of the meat to Katara, who turns it into stew by using some of the water that she, Aang and Toph purified using waterbending and earthbending.

"Our detour into town today has completely thrown off our schedule. It's gonna take some serious finagling to get us back on track." Sokka's eyes dart over his schedule quickly.

"Finagle away, oh schedule master." Toph sounds bored and tired. Obviously, she doesn't like river towns much.

Sokka finishes looking at the schedule. "Well, for starters, it looks like we'll need to wake up forty-three minutes earlier every day."

"Forty-three minutes?" Katara is shocked at her brother's math.

"Look, we only have a few weeks to get to the Fire Lord in time for the invasion and the eclipse, which, by the way, only lasts for eight minutes. And we just lost a whole day. So if we want to make up the time and stay on schedule, we have to wake up early!"

I roll my eyes. "Come on Sokka, we've got a flying bison. Besides, if it really comes down to it, we can pull a last-minute all-nighter, and I'll fly Appa there while the rest of you sleep. I mean, it's not like Appa is going to be participating in most the battle, so flying longer won't be a big problem. And it's not like we haven't done it before. We always manage to get where we're going with time to spare, so stop worrying about it."

Toph agrees with me. "Yeah, I'm not waking up early."

"Or we could cut out all of our eating breaks." Sokka's suggestion is met by complete opposition, so he comes up with another solution. "I got it, how's this from now on, we'll take food breaks and potty breaks at the same time." Of course that disgusts us all. "Hey, it might be gross, but it's efficient. Either way, we have to leave here first thing tomorrow morning."

* * *

In the morning, not all is well, because Appa's tongue has turned purple and he's acting like he's sick. Of course, Sokka's main concern is that now, our schedule is off. Though I do notice that most of the stew from last night is now gone. And I also noticed that Katara came back early in the morning after sneaking out. The perks of being the one who gets up first every morning, as well as the one on night watch, I know if anything is weird before everyone else.

So, since we're out of food again, I go out to the same place as last time and track down another boar so that we can make another pot of stew. I also find some herbs and spices growing wild that I can add to the food to make it taste better.

Late in the night, I see Katara sneak out, and I confront her just outside the camp. "So, where are you sneaking off to?"

She cringes and turns around and I see her disguise. "I was going to the village with food for the hungry, and to heal their sick and injured."

I tap my foot, and then smile. "So that's where the stew went."

She looks like a kid who has been caught doing something naughty. "I'm sorry, I just-"

"No, it's fine." I smile brightly at her. "We couldn't have eaten it all ourselves, and this place needs help. So please, if you're going to help these people…my people…then thank you." A flutter of warmth passes through my skin as I say that they're my people. It's a notion I've only entertained recently.

Her eyes widen. "Your people?" Then she gasps. "That's right; you said that you were the princess of the islands in the eastern Fire Nation. So these really are your people." She nods quickly. "So that's why you're fine with this."

I nod. "Of course I am. I would help you, but I don't really see any way that I could, apart from continuing to hunt for food. Healing is not my specialty."

"Of course. But the fact that you care means that you should be the one looking after them." Katara looks at me seriously. "The Fire Nation is going to need a leader after the war is over. So why don't you do it?"

I blink, and then gaze out at the night sky. "Maybe, if I survive all this. You know the metal spikes in my back? They're killing me, and I don't know how much time I have left. I should be able to make it to the final battle, and maybe even to the end of the summer. If I'm really lucky, I might have years left. But I have no way of knowing how much longer I'm going to live. So rather than think about the future, I want to think about the present. I want to do what I can now and let the rest figure itself out."

Katara nods at me sadly. "I guess that's all any of us can do."

I wave her off. "Alright, go, you have work to do."

She nods and runs off, sliding across the river and out of sight. And I go back to sleep, thinking hard about what Katara said. If I survive this war, who will lead the Fire Nation? Should it be me? Or should I find someone else?

And as usual, while the others go into town, I go out on a day long hunting trip. This time, I bring back a couple of boars, and I get started on the stew since Katara already prepared a pot of water for me. And the food is ready by the time they get back.

* * *

I go to sleep early, and I wake up early. And I'm the first to notice that Katara and Aang are gone. I look over towards the factory, and I have a sneaking suspicion that, since it's the source of all the trouble for the village, Katara probably went to destroy it, and Aang caught her, and then decided to go along as well. Smoke coming from that direction only enhances my suspicion. Then, I find straw in Katara's sleeping bag, and then, I hear a footstep behind me.

"Where did Katara go?" I turn around to see Sokka glaring at me. "Tell me where she went."

I sigh and sit down. "She probably went to help the villagers again. She's been bringing them food and healing them every night."

The Toph gets up from her sleeping bag. "Katara has been sneaking out? Weird."

Sokka then shoves a bag in my face. "And do you know what this is?"

I glance at it. "Nope, but I assume that you're going to tell me, based on your tone."

He opens the bag to reveal purple berries. He tries eating one and his tongue turns purple. "This is how she's been making Appa seem sick. So how long have you known about her being the Painted Lady?"

I frown. "Painted Lady? Is that what the villagers call her? And hey, I've only known since a day and a half ago."

Sokka glares at me. "Now where is she?"

My eyes twitches, then I relent. "Probably on her way back with Aang. They probably went to destroy that factory."

And right on time, Katara and Aang walk back into camp, hoping not to wake us all up. "Shhh! We don't wanna wake Sokka." The two of them walk over, and notice that we're up. "Hi Sokka, we were just out on a morning walk."

Sokka gets really mad at his sister and Aang for sneaking off in the middle of the night. "Oh, really? A morning walk?" He dumps all of the straw out of the sleeping bag. " I know you're the Painted Lady. I know you've been sneaking out at night. And I know you've been lying about Appa and been feeding him purpleising tongue berries." He and Toph stick out their tongues and show the purple color of them. "Katara, what you did put out whole mission in jeopardy. We're leaving right now!" Then Sokka turns on Aang. "And how long did you know about this?"

Aang gets defensive. "Hey, I just found out this morning!"

So I turn on Sokka. "I know that this probably means nothing to you, but it means a lot to me. Katara helped my people. She helped them when I couldn't. So don't go and get mad at her for doing something good."

"These aren't your people!" Sokka glares at me angrily. "They're just a small fishing village that's fallen on hard times."

So I get right back in his face. "They're from the islands, which makes them my people. That truth is burned into my blood; it's why my golden fire exists. Don't you even try denying it, because people keep pushing me back into this, and now, I'm not going to just run away from what I am. I declared my existence to Azula and Zuko, so now; there is no running away from who I really am. So by the end of this war, either we win, or I die, it's that simple for me. So in light of that, I have to consider my position. And that means that I have to consider what I can do for my people."

Sokka opens his mouth to argue, but we're interrupted by boats passing by on the river, and we race to the edge of the cliff, where Aang cringes. "Fire Nation soldiers are heading towards the village."

Sokka turns on Katara. "What did you do?"

"I kind of destroyed their factory."

"You what!?"

Katara turns back on Sokka. "It was your idea!" And then the two of them get into an argument over who was right and who was wrong and whether or not it was a good idea to destroy the factory.

They continue to argue until I finally lose my temper. "Alright, that's it! I'm going down there to help them!"

Katara touches my shoulder. "I'm going too. I'm going to go with you to the village and I'm going to do whatever I can."

And as the two of us start walking down the cliff, Sokka stops us. "Wait! I'm coming too."

Katara turns on her brother. "I thought you didn't want to help."

Sokka sighs. "You need me, and I will never turn my back on you." Then his eyes flick to me. "Either of you."

"Sokka, you really do have a heart." Katara hugs her big brother happily.

Aang wipes away happy tears. "He really does have a heart, doesn't he?" Toph elbows him and I roll my eyes. "Then let's go."

Sokka nods. "And I have a plan. We're going to make the Painted Lady take down the soldiers."

So we move into action. Katara and I make a steamy mist, and Sokka plays the flute eerily, while Toph smacks a boulder on the ground and Appa growls rhythmically. It's a spooky atmosphere for the Painted Lady. And Aang provides all of the bending effects for her, making it all seem very spirit-like.

It scares them so much that the guards drive off in the boats, and Aang lifts Katara above a blast of fire. Then, Katara knocks the captain into the water. "Leave this village and never come back" And when we all gather together in the village, the villagers thank Katara, thinking that she's the Painted Lady.

But one old man approaches her. "Me and my brothers really owe you a lot." But then, he frowns. "Hey, wait a minute! I know you! You're not the Painted Lady, you're that colonial girl!"

But her makeup starts to run, and a little boy recognizes her. "Yeah, you're the lady that gave me a fish."

"You've been tricking us. You're a waterbender!"

They're not so happy to find out that she's been impersonating their guardian spirit. So Sokka intervenes and sticks up for his sister. "Maybe she is a waterbender, but she was just trying to help you. Because of her, that factory won't be polluting your river, and the army is gone. You should be down on your knees thanking her!"

Katara stops her brother. "Sokka, it's okay." Then she addresses the villagers. "I shouldn't have acted like someone I wasn't, and I shouldn't have tricked you. But I felt like I had to do something. It doesn't matter if the Painted Lady is real or not. Because your problems are real, and this river is can't wait around for someone to help you. You have to help yourself."

The old man scratches his head. "She's right, but what should we do?"

Toph plays the part of a villager from the back. "Maybe we can clean the river!"

"Yeah, we can clean the river!" The crowd starts cheering. "Thank you, you know, you're no so bad for a waterbender."

I edge away from the weird old man, and I start examining the river. After Aang, Toph and Katara have a chance to check out the river, we get to work. Toph and Aang earthbend the sludge from the river, and Katara waterbends the clean water into a huge basket. And Sokka brings the sludge to me on the other end of the village so that I can torch it and make it into something less harmful for nature. The work goes on all day, but soon, the water is clean, and the village is happy again.


	37. Sokka's Master

We get back on track, flying across the islands. And as we come to the next one, we stop for the night and watch a meteor shower. I remember when my dad used to watch meteor showers with me. He would get the whole family out so that we could watch it together. Thinking about that makes me sad. And then, I think that the meteorites kind of look like tears falling down in the sky.

But then, one of the meteorites shoots towards us, and flies over our heads, slamming into the ground just a short distance away. We all get up and rush over to where we can see it, and what we see isn't good. The meteorite has set a huge fire, and that's really, really bad.

Katara panics. "The fire is going to destroy that town!"

"Not if we can stop it." Aang leaps onto Appa's head, and we all follow suit.

We fly over and check it out, and the bad news is that the fire is a bit too close to a town. So, with a silent agreement between the four of us, Aang, Toph, Katara and I head down to battle the fire. I run out ahead of the rest of them and plunge right into the middle of the fire. And once there, I start doing my thing.

While Aang and Toph make trenches between the fire and the village, and Katara heads off to the river for water, I get to work. Sokka looks at us hopefully. "What should I do?"

Aang considers him for a moment. "Keep an eye on Momo." Sokka doesn't like that, but there is no time for complaining right now.

Fire swirls around me, and the flames swirl towards me, I lift my left hand into the air and the flames swirl into my hand. Then I lift my right into the air and shoot all of the heat energy into the sky. It's similar to what I did with the volcano. I'm taking the heat and shooting it into the sky, making the flames dimmer, but not extinguishing them completely.

Then, when the fire has died down a little, Katara dumps water on the entire area, while Toph starts stamping it out. Then Aang gets hold of some water, and he sprays it out with airbending, showering the whole area, and freezing it into snow and ice.

* * *

We then go into the town for some food, and Aang looks around at the people. "These people have no idea how close they were to getting toasted last night." He sits at the table with me, Katara and Toph, while Sokka sits on the edge of the floor.

"Yeah, the worst thing about being in disguise is that we don't get the hero worship anymore. I miss the love." Frankly, I think that what Toph is complaining about is the least of our worries."

"Boo hoo, poor heroes." Sokka sounds pretty bitter about it, probably because he was stuck on lemur duty.

Katara is perplexed. "What's your problem? You haven't even touched your smoked sea slug."

Sokka sighs bitterly. "It's just, all you guys can do this awesome bending stuff like putting out forest fires, and flying around, and making other stuff fly around. I can't fly around, okay? I can't do anything."

"That's not true. No one can read a map like you."

Toph tries to help. "I can't read at all."

Sokka looks at me sourly. "Ciara can read a map perfectly…"

Aang looks a little uncomfortable, then grins. "Well, who keeps us laughing with sarcastic comments all the time? I mean, look at Katara's hair, right? What's up with that?"

Aang's joke is obviously lost on Katara, who clutches her hair. "What? What's wrong with my hair?"

Nothing, I was just trying to…"

Sokka sighs. "Look, I appreciate the effort, but the fact is each of you is so amazing and so special and I'm…not. I'm just the guy in the group who's regular."

I glance at him, and then back to my food. "You know, maybe that's not such a bad thing. Imagine how much worse our group arguments would be if you were. Plus, someone needs to come at problems from a normal perspective, otherwise who knows what kind of chaos we could wreak, especially me and Aang. Air and fire are difficult elements to control, especially once they get going." Then I stare at Aang. "At least you haven't managed to make a tornado yet. That's some good news at least."

"Ciara, I know that you mean well, but that doesn't really help either." Sokka sounds downright miserable.

So, to cheer him up, Katara decides to take him shopping for weapons. And of course, Aang goes and puts on a full suit of armor that frankly, scares the crap out of me. But Sokka tries out a variety of weapons, swinging them around and testing them out, before seeing a sword rack that catches his eye.

And after hearing about the guy who made it, Aang gets an idea. "That's it! That's what you've needed all along Sokka!"

"A sword?"

"Not the sword, a master. We've all had masters to help us get better. You should see if you can study with Piandao." And Aang is getting way too excited about this.

Katara smiles. "That's a great idea. I could've never gotten to where I am without Master Pakku. Everyone needs a teacher."

"I learned from badger moles. They don't talk, but they're still good teachers." I don't know if I want to know how animals taught a blind girl to earthbend.

Then, Aang looks at me. "So who was your master? You must have had one."

I look at him, and then smile sadly. "My dad. He taught me how to firebend. He was a true firebending master. In fact, not only could he firebend, but he could make lightning, and he also mentioned one other kind of firebending offshoot that he could use. He just never had the chance to teach it to me. I wasn't old enough to learn it before he died."

Encouraged by our stories, Sokka decides that he's going to go see this sword master and try to get him to teach him. So the rest of us stay back and let Sokka do this on his own, because that's the only way that he will be able to become a strong and courageous warrior.

So while Sokka trains with his new master, I decide to find some inner peace by meditating on the edge of a cliff. I keep my eyes open and take in the scenery. I find that it's a good way to calm myself so that I can take a step back and think about things in a more orderly fashion. And it's also a good way to start a nap.

* * *

A few days later, Sokka finally returns to our camp, which excites everyone, since they've been tremendously bored without him around. "Sokka's back!"

They smother him in a group hug, and he smiles. "Hey guys, how're you doing?"

Katara lets go of him and smiles happily. "We missed you so much!"

Aang backs off, grinning. "Say something funny."

"Funny, how?" And somehow, that makes everyone burst out laughing.

Sokka finally gets serious and down to business. "I'm going to need some help. I need to get that meteorite from last night."

I raise an eyebrow. "Okay, but why?"

Sokka grins. "I'm going to make a sword out of it."

We go to the site of the meteorite crash, and we help him to transport the large piece of rock to Piandao's castle, carving a trench up the hill. Then Sokka knocks quite annoyingly loud on the door, using both door rings.

A man with greying hair and tanned skin opens the door. "Who's this?"

Sokka looks around at us. "Oh, these are my friends. Just other good Fire Nation folks." He bows to his master, who bows back to us, and I swear that the old man's eyes linger on me while he bows. And now, Sokka is really excited. "Do you think we can make a sword out of a meteorite?"

Piandao puts a hand on the big rock and looks carefully at it. "We'll make a sword unlike any other in the world."

Piandao has his butler come and help us transport the rock, since it's way too heavy to just pick up and carry. And once we get it over to the forge, Piandao has his butler bring us to one of the gardens. And there, we hang out together while Sokka makes his sword. We stay at the castle for a couple of days, waiting for Sokka to finally finish.

Then, Piandao has us all come to a large room, where we all sit, and he addresses Sokka, who sits in front of us. "Sokka, when you first arrived, you were so unsure. You even seemed down on yourself. But I was something in you right away. I saw a heart as strong as a lion turtle, and twice as big. And as we trained, it wasn't your skills that impressed me." The butler kneels and presents the sword to Piandao. "No, it certainly wasn't your skills. You showed something beyond that." And now, he unsheathes the black sword and swings it once. "Creativity, versatility, intelligence…these are the traits that define a great swordsman." Piandao sheathes the sword. "And these are the traits that define you." He kneels and presents the sword to Sokka. "You told me you didn't know if you were worthy, but I believe that you are more worthy than any man I have ever trained." He stands, looking proud of Sokka.

But Sokka looks ashamed of himself. "I'm sorry, Master. You're wrong. I am not worthy. I'm not who you think I am. I'm not from the Fire Nation. I'm from the Southern Water Tribe. I lied so I could learn swordsmanship from you. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too." Piandao swings his sword at Sokka, but as Aang, Katara and Toph rush to intervene, Sokka cuts them off. "No, this is my fight, alone."

The two of them take this duel to the courtyard, and I watch with interest as Piandao moves a little like a dancer. But Sokka is fighting smart, using agility against Piandao, who is much older. And he uses the terrain as well. He even pulls a dirty trick and tosses dirt into Piandao's eyes. Then he screws it up by stepping on a twig and giving away his location.

Piandao makes short work of Sokka's sword, hurling it away from him, and pointing his sword at Sokka's throat. Aang, Katara and Toph spring into action, but Piandao removes his sword from Sokka's throat, making the panic pointless. And his butler throws a sheath at Piandao, allowing him to put away his sword.

"I think I'm a little old to be fighting the Avatar." Piandao's comment quickly shakes the three of them out of their combat stances.

Aang is suspicious. "How did you know?"

Piandao seems to be a lot smarter than he looks. "Oh, I've been around a while. You pick things up." He wipes his face with the cloth that his butler provides. "Of course, I knew from the beginning that Sokka was Water Tribe. You might want to think of a better Fire Nation cover name. Try Lee, there's a million Lees." Then he takes a cup of tea and sips on it. "Oh, and of course, traveling with Her Highness gave you all away immediately. She has a very distinctive look about her, to those of us who knew her father. And I knew that she was traveling with the Avatar, so it was easy to recognize your group."

I walk over and huff impatiently. "Well, it's not like I'm hiding anymore. The Fire Lord, and probably the entire military know about me by now, they just don't know where I am. So I guess it makes sense that someone like you would know."

But Katara is confused. "But why would you agree to train someone from the Water Tribe?"

"The way of the sword doesn't belong to any one nation. Knowledge of the arts belongs to us all." Piandao hands his sword to his butler, then walks over to Sokka's sword, pulls it from the ground and hands it to him. "Sokka, you must continue your training on your own. If you stay on this path, I know that one day, you will become an even greater master than I am."

Piandao sends us off happily, but before I head out, he stops me. "Your Highness, I presume that you received the package?"

My eyes widen. "You sent it? How?"

He smiles. "My ancestors served yours as smiths and elite swordsmen. So I am privy to certain secrets that rest in these islands. So, when I was informed by a friend that you had resurfaced, and were traveling with the Avatar, I made arrangements to have that package delivered."

My breath catches in my throat, and then I incline my head to him. "Thank you."

"Be well on your journey." He bows to me in a very unique style, laying his right arm on top of his left. And I recognize it, the style of bowing that my family and their retainers used, a gesture of highest respect.

I run off to the gates and meet up with the others, and the butler comes running to meet us. "Wait!" He catches us and takes out a small bag. "The Master wanted you to have this, as something to remember him by."

The butler leaves and Sokka opens the bag, removing a lotus tile. "It's a pai sho tile."

"The White Lotus. Huh." Aang looks at it, perplexed. And Katara is just as confused. "What does it mean?"

"I have no idea…" Sokka shakes his head. Then he reaches into his pocket. "Oh, that reminds me! Toph, I thought you might like this." He offers her a piece of the meteorite. "Since you've never had a chance to bend space earth before."

"Sweet!" And immediately, she starts playing with it.

But I'm fixated on the lotus tile. _The White Lotus…no way…is he?_ I look back towards the castle. _He's a member of the White Lotus…that's how he knew! But then if he's a member…then what about Bumi and Pakku? Are they…?_ I shake my head. Right now is not the time to be dwelling on those thoughts.

We head back to our campsite to get Appa and Momo, and to get the hell out of here. We've stayed a bit too long, and we need to make up for lost time. But not entirely lost, since Sokka has a new sword, new confidence, and a slightly new function in the team.


	38. The Beach

We stop on the next island because of its seclusion, and spend some time relaxing at some natural hot springs, right next to a volcanic lake. It's nice to get away from all the crazy shit and actually relax for once. And this place is so out in the middle of nowhere that no one could ever find us here.

I relax in the hot springs, and since I like my baths really hot, I use my firebending on the water to give it a little extra heat. Katara and Aang like the lake better, and they do a lot of goofing around, including messing with their waterbending.

Or so I thought. Toph wakes us all up in the middle of the night, again, panicking. "Guys, you're all gonna think I'm crazy, but it feels like a metal man is coming."

A light shines in Aang's eyes and he groans, and I immediately feel an intense sense of fear. "Run, now."

Aang tries to earthbend something between us and this stranger, but there's an explosion and we're all knocked off our feet. So Toph earthbends and Katara waterbends at him, giving us some cover so that we can take cover and get out of there.

"This is crazy!" And Sokka's exclamation sums up the situation nicely. "How can we beat a guy who blows things up with his mind?" And it's true; the guy is firebending without firebending. Psychic firebending.

"We can't! Jump on Appa! I'll try to distract him!" And Aang runs off with some crazy, convoluted scheme that involves distracting a guy who blows things up with his brain, and clearly wants to kill us.

But the rest of us climb on Appa and I take the reins as we take off into the sky. Aang is fighting over in an area with rock pillars, so I guide Appa over there and we swoop underneath Aang as he falls out of the sky. Katara catches him and we fly off quickly, leaving this assassin behind us.

"Well that was random." Toph's casual remark is a bit weird to me.

But Katara is a lot more serious. "I don't think so. I get the feeling he knows who we are."

I nod. "My guess, that's an assassin. And clearly, a good one. The question is…who sent him? Because if we can figure that out, then maybe we can figure out why we're being attacked, as well as how far this assassin is going to go in order to do that job."

* * *

We escape from the assassin, but that's only one of our many problems. Aang has a whole set of problems to himself, dreams and nightmares. After Aang has a dream, we head along to Roku's Island, the home of Aang's past life. But the entire island looks like a volcano erupted on it, which makes sense, considering the towering volcano right in the middle of the island.

"There it is. That's Roku's home." Aang looks nostalgically at the volcano.

Katara is confused. "But, there's nothing here."

Toph uses her earthbending to search the ground. "Yes, there is. An entire village, hundreds of houses…all completely buried in ash."

So, Aang sits down on a cliff and meditates, connecting with Roku and finding out whatever it is that his past life has to say. Though he does a few weird things, like it looks like he tries to use the bathroom. I've long since given up trying to figure out Aang when he goes to the Spirit World. The Avatar stuff is just a little beyond me.

Aang finally comes out of the Spirit World. He tells us about how Sozin and Roku were best friends, but ultimately, Sozin betrayed Roku and left him to die, here, on this island. It's a terrible way to die, betrayed by your best friend.

Katara is shocked. "You mean, after all Roku and Sozin went through together, even after Roku showed him mercy, Sozin betrayed him like that?"

"It's like these people are born bad." Toph's words sting a bit, considering who I am.

But Aang shakes his head. "No, that's wrong. I don't think that was the point of what Roku showed me at all."

Sokka shrugs. "Then what was the point?"

Aang thinks about it. "Roku was just as much Fire Nation as Sozin was, right? If anything, their story proves anyone's capable of great good and great evil." Aang gestures to me. "Ciara is a Fire Nation princess. But she's not evil; she's probably one of the nicest people I've ever met. What that means is simple. Everyone, even the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation have to be treated like they're worth giving a chance. And I also think it was about friendships."

"Do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?" Toph sounds a bit wistful.

Aang grabs her hand. "I don't see why not." Katara takes Toph's other hand, and Aang extends his other hand to me. "Come on, you too." That makes me smile, to know that even after the things he saw, he still considers me to be part of the group.

As I take Aang's hand, Sokka goes all logic lover on us. "Well, scientifically speaking, there's no way to prove that…"

"Oh Sokka, just hold hands." Katara thrusts her hand out to her brother with a spike of annoyance.

Sokka moves to hold his sister's hand, and then sees mine held out to him. A small smile crosses his face as we seal the circle. I smile happily. "Maybe one day we'll find out if friendships really can transcend lifetimes…"


	39. The Runaway

We continue our traveling, and I opt out of helping Katara and Toph train Aang. I think having fire thrown at him, in addition to the rocks and water, would be a little too much, even for Aang. And I don't bother watching as Katara and Toph roll around in the mud, arguing. Though I must admit, at least the name-calling is getting a little more creative. Madame Fussy Britches and Mud Slug are much more interesting names than Sugar Queen.

I decide to give Appa a good brushing while Toph and the boys go into town. Though their return surprises me a little. They brought a bunch of food with them. Katara notices as well. "Where did you guys get the money to buy all this stuff?"

"Toph got us money." Aang grabs an apple and bites into it. "She scammed one of those guys in town who moves the shells around all sneaky-like." He even mimics one of those con-artists.

Sokka sits down around the pot as well. "She used earthbending to win the game! Classic!"

"Ah, so she cheated." And now, Katara's disapproval is clear in her voice.

Toph grabs an apple of her own and takes a bite. "Hey! I only cheated because he was cheating! I cheated a cheater. What's wrong with that?" Of course, considering that I know those types, I'm fine with her pulling a fast one on them.

Katara sighs. "I'm just saying this isn't something we should make a habit of doing."

Toph takes that as a challenge. "Why? Because it's fun? And you hate fun?"

"I don't hate fun!" Katara grabs Momo and puts him on her head. "See? Fun!" Momo slides right off her head and runs away. I don't blame him, since I doubt that he likes to be used as a hat. Besides, Aang is clearly his favourite.

Aang gets to his feet. "Katara, I'll personally make you an Avatar promise thast we won't make a habit of doing these scams."

Katara seems to like that, but I know better. Aang is too suggestible, and all Sokka and Toph have to do is apply a little bit of pressure, and he'll cave in. And once he caves in, he'll go wild and have far too much fun with it. _I wonder how long this promise of his is going to last…_ I get a funny feeling that they're just going to get worse. But I'll have no part in it. And if they refuse me food, I'll just go hunting.

* * *

The scams continue, as I expected, and sometimes they even pick me up a few things while they're in town. So I decide to ask Toph about it. "Hey, why do you guys bring me back stuff? I thought that you would be all mad at me for refusing to participate in the scams, and decide not to get me anything."

She shrugs. "You did a lot of the food gathering back in the Earth Kingdom, and I'm guessing that one of the reasons that you won't participate is because you don't want to get caught by people who recognize you. So, I'm cool with you sitting them out. At least you don't get on our cases about them."

I glance at her, and then sigh. "As long as you guys aren't stealing from poor people or innocent people, then I don't really care. There's more than enough corruption on the streets for people to profit from, and I don't mind seeing those people hit where it hurts."

"See, this is why we get along." Toph lies back and goes about counting her money.

So I get up and brush off my clothes. "I'm going to go practice throwing knives. Try not to get anywhere near me, unless you want to end up like those deer I hunt. When I concentrate, I have a tendency to throw knives at anything that moves."

I go about half a kilometer away, and that's about far enough to drown out the noise that Toph and Katara start making when they start arguing. I start throwing knives, a new set that Aang picked up for me after one of their scams, at the trunks of trees. They're a good set, good enough to replace my old worn out ones, so I have no reason to say no to them. And of course, I carve targets onto the trees to help with improving my accuracy, which has been dropping because I haven't been out hunting lately.

* * *

After a couple of days, even I have to admit that the scams are getting a little out of hand. Getting a wanted poster of herself is dangerous. Toph may be a powerful earthbender, and a free spirit, but this really is starting to get dangerous. And if the worst happens, then I'll have to step in and put a stop to things. Though personally, I would prefer the method of letting them make their own mistakes and learning from them. But if it turns out that this is going to be deadly, then I'll do what I have to, in order to protect them.

But the situation only gets worse when Katara catches sight of Sokka and Toph coming back to camp after another day out scamming. "Well, look who decided to join us." She stands up to confront them. "Where have you two been? Off scamming again?"

"Yes, we were." Toph makes no attempt to even hide what they've been up to.

"And I suppose that you don't think what you're doing is dangerous at all?" Katara's fury is building, and I just know that she's bound to explode soon.

Toph huffs belligerently. "No, I don't."

"Really?"

"Yes. Really."

And at this point, I just get up, go around to Appa's other side, and stuff myself between his front paws and under his head while Katara and Toph start yelling at each other. I hate it when the kids yell at each other, and Toph and Katara are the worst about it. Their personalities conflict so badly that they always end up at each other's throats. Katara tries to act mature, but every time she and Toph get into an argument, she just proves that she's not as mature as she thinks she is.

Thankfully, Sokka decides to help out and be the responsible kind of big brother that he's neglected to be ever since I met them. He takes Toph off to talk to her alone, probably about Katara. But it feels good to not be the only one thinking with a level head for once.

Later in the day, Katara actually approaches Toph. "Hi Toph. Um I wanna-"

But Toph cuts her off. "Katara, stop. You don't need to apologize. I was the one being stupid. These scams are out of control, and I'm done with them."

A smile blooms on Katara's face. "Actually, I wasn't going to apologize. I was gonna say…I wanna pull a scam with you."

Aang, Sokka and I stare at Katara as though she flew in from another planet. I nudge Aang and whisper quietly. "Did you put something funny in her food that I don't know about?"

"Nope…" Aang shakes his head, his eyes wide. "I'm as clueless as you are."

"Good to know…" And already, I know that this is totally going to blow up in our faces.

Toph is shocked as well. "What? You wanna pull a scam?"

"Not just any scam. The ultimate scam." Katara is obviously off her rocker now. "Whaddaya say, Toph? Just me and you. One last go. You in?"

That gets Toph excited. "You know I'm in! Now what's this idea of yours?" The two of them walk off, leaving me with the two boys, both of whom have fainted from shock.

"It's going to be a long day…" I sigh and drape a couple blankets over them, since they might as well take this opportunity to get some sleep. I've got a feeling that they're going to need it. "And this scam of theirs is going to come back to bite us in the butt.

After a couple of hours, the guys start getting worried. Aang starts pacing nervously. "Do you think this scam of theirs should be taking this long?"

Sokka frowns. "I was just wondering the same thing. We'd better check it out." He turns to me. "It's too dangerous for you to come into town, so hold down the fort here and we'll be back soon."

The two of them head off into the town to find Toph and Katara. And despite my better judgement, I decide to head into town about ten minutes after they leave. I know that I'm risking blowing my cover, but I've got no choice, I have to go help them. If something has gone wrong, then I can't leave them to do this alone.

* * *

I arrive in town, perched on one of the rooftops, and see them running around the town. Aang is on the rooftops as well, fitting for an airbender. My instincts were right, and that assassin is back. Now, it's clear that he's after Aang specifically, so I jump across the rooftops and try to catch up with him. I want to prevent a disaster before it starts, and preferably spare some of these buildings from being destroyed. But before I can get to him, he gets blasted off a roof, and slams into the huge statue of Ozai.

I leap over the plaza and catch Aang before he hits the ground. Unfortunately, that gives the assassin the perfect opportunity to approach us. I look up at him and blast him backwards with a jet of fire. And as he rises to his feet, a chunk of ice forms around his head.

Katara runs towards us from behind the assassin, so I help Aang to his feet and nod at Katara. "Nice timing. Now let's go!"

Toph earthbends a boulder behind us to stop the assassin from doing his psychic firebending thing to hit us. And we all make a run for it. Then I turn to Toph and Katara and roll my eyes. "I knew that this was going to go badly. I hope you both learned a valuable lesson from all of this."

"What, that scams are bad and we shouldn't do them?" Katara looks winded and has a wry smile on her face.

Toph, on the other hand looks freaked out. "You mean that some people are cut out for scams and some aren't?"

I shake my head. "The lesson is that you need to work your way up to the big prizes, and not get caught in obvious traps. If the reward was ten times what was scammed, then obviously something is up. Use your instincts. Because mine told me that this was going to go badly, and it did. It was worse than I was expecting, but still, my point stands. In short, the lesson is to be more observant, and not to leap into situations before understanding what they are."

Katara looks at me disbelievingly. "Seriously? That's the lesson?"

"Yep, now let's move before…" I shake my head. "That assassin needs a name." We get up from the ground and start running out of town.

Sokka quickly catches up with us, followed by Aang. "Hey, I got it! The perfect name for that guy!" Sokka gets all excited. "Combustion Man!"

Toph does the congratulations. "Good job Sokka. Now let's get out of here before Combustion Man catches us!"

"See, it fits so well!" Sokka seems a little too proud of himself. Frankly, it doesn't matter what we call the assassin, because if he catches us, all he'll be calling us is dead.

We run all the way out of town, pack up as fast as we can, then get on Appa and start flying towards the next island in this archipelago. The more distance we put between us and this assassin, the better. And preferably, some natural barriers as well.


	40. The Puppetmaster

We camp out on a new island, getting ever closer to the mainland, and sit around the fire telling ghost stories. Sokka goes first, though I don't listen much to his story since I find it to be a bit boring. "Suddenly, they heard something down the hall in the dark. Oooh…It came into the torchlight…and they knew the blade of Wing Fung was haunted!" He stands up and draws his sword, being all dramatic and screeching, but he fails miserably.

Aang looks bored as well. "I think I like 'the man with a sword for a hand' better."

"Water Tribe slumber parties must stink." Toph isn't very impressed either.

But Katara won't have that. "No, wait! I've got one! And this is a true Southern Water Tribe story."

Sokka sits down. "Is this one of those 'a friend of my cousin knew some guy that this happened to' stories?"

Katara shakes her head. "No, it happened to Mom." That gets our attention, and Katara begins. "One winter, when Mom was a girl, a snowstorm buried the whole village for weeks. A month later, Mom realized she hadn't seen her friend Nini since the storm. So Mom and some others went to check on Nini's family. When they got there, no one was home. Just a fire flickering in the fireplace. While the men went out to search, Mom stayed in the house. When she was alone, she heard a voice." Katara shifts her voice to a higher pitch. "It's so cold and I can't get warm." And that scares her brother silly. "Mom turned and saw Nini standing by the fire. She was blue like she was frozen. Mom ran outside for help, but when everyone came back, Nini was gone."

Aang covers his face with Momo's ears, and Sokka peeks out from behind a tree. "Where's she go?"

"No one knows. Nini's house stands empty to this day, but sometimes, people see smoke coming up from the chimney, like little Nini is still trying to get warm."

Everyone looks freaked out by that story, so I decide that I'm going to try and scare them a little. "I've got a story." I get close to the fire and breathe deeply. "This happened a long time ago, in one of the furthest reaches of the Earth Kingdom. There was a small settlement up a mountain, thought to be protected by a guardian spirit."

Aang sits up and tilts his head. "This doesn't sound like a scary story."

"That's because it isn't, not at first. But it's a true story, I heard it back when I was a kid." I breathe again and stare into the fire. "The people who lived in this settlement were firebenders. They were peaceful and kind, and they co-existed harmoniously with their neighbouring villages, full of Earth Kingdom citizens." The fire flickers and gets a little lower. "But one day, a group of soldiers attacked the settlement. They were looking for the people who lived there, but, what they found was that the dozen or so members of the settlement weren't home, the place was empty. Not deserted, just empty, like everyone had gone out for a picnic."

Now, my expression gets a little dark. "But that's exactly what they were doing, having a picnic. It was the birthday of the leader's daughter, she was just a small child, but she was always praised as a beautiful and talented girl, even though she was barely two and a half feet tall. So, they decided to go out for the day for a picnic. The sky was clear and blue, and there were only a few puffy white clouds."

The color drains from Aang's face. "Then what happened?"

The fire flares a bit. "The soldiers happened upon the settlement's little picnic. And, having found their targets, they went ahead with their mission and murdered them in cold blood. First, they took the grandparents, who tried their hardest to shield their children and grandchild with their own bodies. But the soldiers were ruthless, and the grandparents were burned to ash, scattering on the breeze like leaves in the fall."

Everyone cringes, so I keep going. "Then, the leader, having seen his own parents fall to the soldiers, took up arms and fought them. Fire colored the sky red and gold like a bloody sunset. The land cracked, and every living thing within a mile of them was turned to ash in seconds. All except for the soldiers, and the leader's wife and daughter. And even when it seemed like he would be overtaken, he never gave in, never gave up." The fire flares again and I breathe. "But then, the soldiers' leader appeared to duel the settlement's leader. The two fought, like it was a true Agni Kai, a fire duel. There was a terrible cry of pain, as though one of the fighters had been stabbed. And when the dust settled, only one was still standing."

"Which one…?" Aang looks a little scared now. "Which one was still standing?"

I glance back at the fire. "The one still standing, holding a bloodied and burned corpse in the air, was the soldiers' leader. He had killed the girl's father, and forced the mother and daughter to watch. Then, he threw the corpse to the ground and took the little girl from her mother. He took metal irons and branded the girl with them while her mother watched. The little girl's screams could be heard for miles, but no one came to their rescue. Instead, the soldiers gagged her, and when they were done with her, they tied her to a tree, her back burned and bloody, and forced her to watch as they beat, violated, and murdered her mother."

I ignore the anguished look in Aang's eyes, and the horrified look in Katara's, and the petrified look in Sokka's. "When the soldiers were finally finished, they left. They left the little girl there to die, tied to a tree and bleeding badly. But what they hadn't known was that the girl called on the power of that guardian spirit, and it gave her power, power enough to free herself. She took her mother's torn clothes and used them as bandages, before wandering off into the wilderness, never to be seen again."

Toph gulps. "What happened to her?"

I shrug. "For a long time, no one knew. They all thought that she died. But, several years later, rumors started surfacing, about a girl who resembled the little girl that had been left to die. No one could confirm it though, since by then, she would have been a young woman, not a little girl. But those rumors persist, and for years, she was thought to be traveling the world in secret with her guardian spirit, never letting the people who killed her family capture her as well. But she would always disappear again so quickly, that many never believed that she existed. Or maybe, she did die, and her spirit continues to roam the earth as it once did."

With my story finished, the fire stops flaring and dying, and returns to it's normal burning. But Toph seems distracted. She puts her hands on the ground and looks scared. "Wait! Guys, did you hear that?" Sokka, Katara and Aang clutch each other in fear as Toph keeps feeling around. "I hear people under the mountain. And they're screaming.

Sokka laughs. "Pfft! Nice try."

"No, I'm serious. I hear something."

"You're probably just jumpy from the ghost stories…" Katara tries to soothe Toph's nerves, but I can tell she's trying to calm her own as well.

Then, Toph gets worried. "It just…stopped."

Aang continues to hug Katara close, obviously unnerved. "All right, now I'm getting scared."

"Hello children." A voice emanates from behind Aang, Katara and Sokka, and scares the crap out of everyone else.

I, on the other hand, pull my knife and stare at the newcomer, an old woman. "Who are you, what do you want?"

She steps into the firelight and smiles. "Sorry to frighten you. My name is Hama. You children shouldn't be out in the forest by yourselves at night. I have an inn nearby. Why don't you come back there for some spiced tea and warm beds?"

Sokka answers for us, rather sheepishly. "Yes, please."

Hama takes us to her inn and gives us tea. Then, she gives us a warning. "You know, you should be careful. People have been disappearing in those woods you were camping in."

That concerns Sokka, who seems as suspicious and wary as I am. "What do you mean disappearing?"

"When the moon turns full, people walk in and they don't come out." That's a creepy warning. And more than a little suspicious. "Who wants more tea?" None of us say a thing, so she tries to reassure us. "Don't worry, you'll all be completely safe here. Why don't I show you to your rooms and you can get a good night's rest?"

We follow her upstairs to where the bedrooms are, and we each pick one. But I can't sleep. This place is creepy, and I'm still upset from telling that story earlier. I know that none of them know, but it's still hard to tell that story. It's hard, because it's mine. The little girl in the story, the one who was celebrating her birthday with a big family picnic, was me. It's a story from ten years ago, but the wounds are still fresh.

* * *

In the morning, we help Hama do her shopping, Katara warms up to her quickly. "That Mr. Yao seems to have a thing for you. Maybe we should go back and see if he'll give us some free komodo sausages?"

Hama becomes serious. "You would have me use my feminine charms to take advantage of that poor man? A smile crosses her face. "I think you and I are going to get along swimmingly."

"You won't have any ash bananas till next week?"

I turn my head and see a shopkeeper talking to a customer. "Well, I have to send the boy to Hing Wa Island to get them, and it's a two day trip."

"Oh, right. Tomorrow's the full moon." Again with the full moon. This is starting to sound suspiciously like what I heard about waterbending being stronger at the full moon.

"Exactly. I can't lose another delivery boy in the woods."

Hama returns our attention to her. "Why don't you take all those things back to the inn? I just have to run a couple more errands. I'll be back in a little while."

Sokka walks over. "This is a mysterious little town you have here."

Hama chuckles. "Mysterious town for mysterious children." Her smile is really creepy, and it sends shivers up and down my spine.

So we take all of the food back to the inn while Hama goes out to run those other errands. And Sokka is as suspicious as I am. "That Hama seems a little strange. Like she knows something, or she's hiding something."

Katara continues unpacking, and replies with a slight scoff. "That's ridiculous. She's a nice woman who took us in and gave us a place to stay. She kinda reminds me of Gran-Gran."

"But what did she mean by that comment 'mysterious children'?" Sokka caught on, good. At least I'm not the only one getting creeped out by the particular word choices of our host.

Katara rolls her eyes. "Gee, I don't know. Maybe because she found five strange kids camping in the woods at night? Isn't that a little mysterious?"

Sokka frowns, then turns around. "I'm gonna take a look around." And he heads straight for the stairs, followed by Katara, Aang and Toph. But as I have no interest in searching, or in snooping. So I stay downstairs the whole time and try to get some sleep while they explore the house.

Katara comes to wake me for dinner, so I come down to sit at the table. But the food is so foreign to me that I shy away from it as I listen to Hama telling us about how she was the last waterbender to be taken from the Southern Water Tribe. She watched and fought as her fellow waterbenders were taken captive, and she herself was eventually captured and led away in chains.

Katara is amazed and mystified. "I can't tell you what it means to meet you. It's an honor. You're a hero."

"I never thought I'd meet another Southern waterbender." Then, she extends an offer to Katara. "I'd like to teach you what I know so you can carry on the Southern tradition when I'm gone."

Katara is very excited. "Yes! Yes, of course! To learn about my heritage, it would mean everything to me"

* * *

So, in the morning, while Katara goes out the train with Hama, the rest of us go into town to investigate the disappearances. But I'm nervous about leaving Katara alone with that woman. Something really seems wrong to me about her.

We find out about a man who saw the spirit who has been taking people. So we look around for him and find him in the evening. Aang approaches him cautiously. "Old Man Ding?"

"Huh?" The old man turns and smack his thumb with his hammer. "Ow, dang blame it! What? Can't you see I'm busy? Got a full moon rising. And why does everyone call me that? I'm not that old!" He tries to lift the next plan off the ground so that he can finish boarding up his window. "Well, I'm young at heart at least. Not ready to get snapped up by some moon monster yet at least."

Aang helps the old man to get the board up, and Sokka nails it onto the window. "We wanted to ask you about that."

"Did you get a good look at the spirit that took you?" Aang sure is forward with his question.

But what he says shocks us. "Didn't see no spirit, just felt something come over me, like I was possessed. Forced me to start walking towards the mountain." He points up to the mountain. "I tried to fight it, but I couldn't control my own limbs. It just about had me into a cave up there. And I looked up at the moon for what I thought would be my last glimpse of light. But then the sun started to rise and I got control of myself again! I just high-tailed it away from that mountain as quick as I could!"

This is really sounding like waterbending to me. But I've never heard of any waterbending that can control a person's body. _Unless…_ A terrible thought crosses my mind. _Unless maybe it's the manipulation of water inside the human body! And with a full moon and extra power, it might just be possible!_ And as far as I can tell, the only waterbender who lives here, is that old woman. Hama.

Sokka is confused, "Why would a spirit want to take people to a mountain?"

Toph has an epiphany. "Oh no! I did hear people screaming under the mountain. The missing villagers must still be there!"

Toph leads us out of the village and towards the mountain, feeling her way towards the villagers. "I can hear them. They're this way!" And she leads us off, right to the mountain. And when we come to a hole in the ground, she nods. "This is the place."

"I can't see anything down there." Sokka peers into the hole, but it's pitch black.

So I hold up my hand and fill it with fire. "Good thing I'm here then, otherwise you would have no walking torch."

We head down into the cave and walk quite a ways, letting Toph lead, while I provide light for Aang and Sokka. We find an underground bunker, which Toph opens with her metalbending. And I put my fire out as we bring the two torches from the doorway with us.

We rush into a room and find the missing villagers. Aang looks around. "I didn't know spirits made prisons like this. Who brought you here?"

"It was no spirit."

"It was a witch!"

"A witch? What do you mean?" Honestly, Sokka can be so clueless sometimes.

One girl looks at us, a little frightened. "She seems like a normal old woman, but she controls people like some dark puppetmaster."

I sigh impatiently. "It's Hama. She's the one who did this. The whole full moon, and moving body things sounded to me like some twisted kind of waterbending. And she creeped me out since she first showed up."

Sokka growls in frustration. "I knew there was something creepy about her!"

"We have to stop Hama!" Aang turns to leave, then hesitates.

I shake my head. "Go, me and Toph can take care of this. You two need to go help Katara." We left Katara with her on a full moon. Two waterbending masters and a full moon. This is going to be bad.

I go about smashing the chains, making them unusable. And after handing the torches to a couple of villagers, I lead the way out of the caves while Toph seals them up behind us, making them unusable as a prison. "There, that should stop this problem from happening again."

I nod. "Now, let's get these people out of here." And once again, I find myself taking care of the people of the islands, my people…

We lead the villagers to where Katara and the boys have Hama subdued. And they arrest her, meaning that she will be locked up again. But she's already completed her goal; she's forced her skills onto Katara. And she looks very proud of herself. "Congratulations, Katara. You're a bloodbender." Katara looks devastated, and she starts to cry. So I pat her head, and Aang puts an arm around her as the villagers take Hama away.


	41. Nightmares and Daydreams

We take off again and arrive at the rendezvous point for the invasion forces a whole four days ahead of schedule. Which means that once again, I'm right and Sokka is wrong. I told him weeks ago that we would be here with time to spare, and that his master schedule was useless.

So, I decide to rub it in. "See, I told you that we would get here ahead of schedule. That master schedule of yours was basically useless. We made a ton of stops, and we still got here early."

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." Sokka stretches out his arms and grins. "This is it! The official rendezvous point for the invasion force." And in front of us, we can see several dozen sheep grazing on the grassy hillsides.

"How did you pick this place?" Toph seems genuinely curious, probably because she's never felt a place like this before.

Sokka grins. "Before we split up, my dad and I found this island on the map. It's uninhabited, and the harbors surrounded by the cliffs seemed like the perfect secluded place."

Katara nods. "Nice choice, Sokka. And we're here four days ahead of schedule."

Aang gets anxious, fast. "Wait! Four days? The invasion's in four days?" Obviously, he doesn't feel like he's ready to fight the Fire lord. But, if all goes well, then it won't really be much of a fight.

Sokka yawns pointedly. "Whatever. That's like, four days from now. Let's just calm down and-" But he falls asleep before even finishing his sentence.

I stretch my arms and stifle a yawn of my own. "I second that motion. I'm pooped." And I curl up and go to sleep.

* * *

But Aang insists on waking us all up in the morning with his loud training, violently punching a poor, innocent tree. I glare at him irritably, then drag my blanket over to Appa, lie down between his paws, and try fall asleep with my ears covered by his thick fur. Though I soon hear Sokka trying to reassure Aang. "That's okay Aang. The eclipse will block off firebending anyway. You don't need to know it. Plus, it's a stupid element."

I poke my head out and glare at him. "Fire is not a stupid element. None of the elements are stupid. Fire is just the most dangerous one. And besides, if Aang really wants the learn firebending, then he has to be calm and patient, otherwise he'll end up roasting you guys. I'd be fine; I can deflect fire, but the rest of you, roasted like deer on a spit." Then I snuggle back under Appa's head and go right to sleep, because I can't deal with such a wound up Aang.

I spend the next couple of days practicing with my spear, since when the eclipse hits, I'll have no firebending to work with. But Aang still can't seem to sleep, and he keeps waking up randomly from nightmares that make absolutely no sense at all. First something about no pants, then a math test, then missing the invasion, and Ozai on a hippo cow. I swear, that boy has the weirdest dreams. But since we still have two days before the invasion, Aang needs to chill out and sleep, because he looks really tired.

* * *

Aang's antics get even worse. Something about Sokka dying because he can't climb cliffs, and Toph dying because she had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the invasion, and Katara getting her hair caught in a train. But before he can get on to how I die, I stop him. "Aang, you're tired and paranoid, and whatever you see me dying of, I guarantee you, it's not going to happen. I've survived this long, and gotten into every kind of trouble imaginable. I promise you, I'm not going to die of whatever crazy situation your brain managed to cook up." Then I storm off to find a nice hill to practice on. Somewhere far away from our paranoid Avatar.

The others try a variety of methods to try and help Aang to calm down and lose some stress. Katara's hot yoga fails, and Sokka's shrink session fails as well. So Toph tries an earthbending style massage that nearly breaks Aang in half. But when she suggests acupuncture, Aang draws the line and runs away. And I make a mental note to never ask Toph for help de-stressing.

Hopefully, Aang will finally get some sleep; this is our second last night to sleep before the invasion, so he needs to seriously get a grip and sleep, because otherwise he's going to go insane. And like I expect, Aang screams in the middle of the night and wakes up all of us. Katara, Sokka and Toph go over to try and help him, but obviously their individual pep talks aren't working.

I roll over and push myself to my feet. "Alright Aang. That's it! I'm as stressed as you are, but I'm not going around and waking people up with my nightmares."

Aang glares at me and loses it. "How could you possibly be as stressed out as I am? I have to fight the Fire Lord! You just have to help with the invasion. And you're going to be kind of useless since you can't bend anyway!"

Everyone goes quiet as my burning glare roots Aang to the spot. "You know nothing about that. I'm about to walk into enemy territory as well. We're about to confront the man who had my family slaughtered. Sure, I won't be able to bend during the eclipse, but that's why I've been practicing with my spear, so that I have a weapon other than my martial arts during the time of the eclipse. So don't talk to me like I know nothing. For me, this war is personal. So don't you ever assume that you know if I'm stressed out or not. I'm just really good at hiding it. If you had to deal with this every time I had a nightmare, none of us would ever get any sleep!"

And with that, I crawl right back under Appa, after flipping him back over, and I go to sleep. And the entire time, I try to fight off the recurring nightmares that I have of that day. The day that my family was bloodied and burned to ash, and the day I lose everything that I ever cared about, including the freedom of choosing my own destiny.

Katara convinces me to help out with making a nice, fluffy bed of sheep wool for Aang. It's basically our last resort in terms of getting him to finally sleep through the night. If he doesn't sleep, he'll be in no shape to fight, and that will make this entire invasion useless.

When Aang arrives, he investigates the bed, not believing his eyes. "Oh, look. Another hallucination. An imaginary bed made out of clouds."

"Hey!" Toph gets irritated. "It's real! We spent hours working on it."

"We made it for you. A good night's sleep will probably take the crazy away. We hope." Sokka smirks next to a group of shaved sheep.

But Aang is just angry about this. "Look! You guys keep telling me that I need to sleep, but I can't! The invasion's tomorrow!"

"Aang…" Katara reaches out to him gently, trying to calm him down.

"No, Katara! There's still so much that I haven't learned. I don't need sleep. What I need is practice. Quick, hit me!" But as soon as he says that, he starts wobbling from fatigue.

"I'm not going to hit you."

"You want me to do it?" Toph is a bit too eager, but thankfully, Sokka reins her in.

Katara takes over, using a gentle voice. "Listen, you've been training for this since the day we met. I've seen your progress. You're smart, brave and strong enough."

"You really think so?" Aang looks unsure, but hopeful as well. Katara nods.

Sokka smiles and holds out his arms. "We all do. You can do this. You're ready."

"You're the man Twinkle Toes!"

I approach Aang and pat his shoulder. "And besides, you'll have all of us there with you, plus, allies that we trust. We're not going into this alone, and you're not going alone either."

He smiles. "Thanks guys." Then he falls back onto the bed. "You know what, I think I am ready." And he falls fast asleep.

And in the morning, we're all quite well rested, including Aang, who greets Momo happily. "Top of the morning, Momo!"

"Sounds like you slept well." Katara gets up and smiles happily.

"Like a baby moose lion." Aang jumps around and gets into a combat stance. "I'm ready to face the Fire Lord."

Toph gets a little excited. "So, what's your strategy for taking him down? Gonna get your glow on and hit him with a little Avatar State action?" She wiggles her fingers and punches her fist out dramatically.

But Aang suddenly gets sad. "I can't. When Azula shot me with lightning, my seventh chakra was locked, cutting off my connection to all the cosmic energy in the universe."

"You know what I just heard? Blah, blah, spiritual mumbo jumbo blah, blah, something about space."

But as I'm fixing up my hair, Katara looks down the cliffs. "Oh no. Sokka, do you think the fog will delay the invasion?"

"No." Sokka stands up. "That is the invasion!"

Several Water Tribe ships come sailing out of the fog, and on them, are our allies, our invasion force. So, Aang and Toph use earthbending to make docks in the harbor, while I finish with putting my golden tiara in my hair, using braids to anchor it in place, and letting half of the curls fall down around my shoulders. It's the style that my mother wore, and I always liked it. I figure that if I'm going into battle, I might as well wear it proudly. I also strap a leather belt around my right hip and left shoulder, to hold my spear on my back.

* * *

When Sokka asks his dad about our allies, the first to get off the boats are a few of the swampbenders, plus that plantbender. And the next, having grown a bit, and grown a mustache and goatee, is Haru, our earthbender friend from when we blew up that rig. His father is here too, and he looks quite happy to see Katara.

So I approach them and draw quite a lot of attention with my bright red clothes and golden hairpiece. Haru looks at me and frowns, but his father, Tyro, recognizes me immediately. "Ciara, I see that you are doing well, that's good."

I nod to him and smile. "I'm doing very well, thank you. And thank you for coming, your support here means a lot to all of us."

Haru looks at me curiously. "Sokka and Katara are wearing their Water Tribe clothes now, so why are you dressed like that?"

I stifle a laugh and smile at him. "Because if we're wearing clothes associated with our nation, then technically, this is what I should be wearing. After all, I'm the only firebender in this invasion force. And until the eclipse happens, that's basically what I'll be doing, firebending."

Toph distracts us by turning around. "No way! Is that-"

Toph gets lifted right off the ground by a competitor from Earth Rumble Six, The Hippo. And The Boulder is here as well, which is surprising. The Hippo is ecstatic. "Hippo happy to see Blind Bandit!"

"You guys here for a rematch?"

"Negatory." The Boulder shakes his head. "The Boulder and The Hippo no longer fight for others' entertainment. Now, we fight for our kingdom!"

Toph smiles her big wide grin. "Sweet."

Suddenly, an explosion goes off in one of the boats, and as Sokka, Hakoda and Aang rush towards it, I groan. "Why do I get the feeling that I know exactly who that is…?" And as I suspected, Teo and his dad, along with Pipsqueak and The Duke get off that ship.

After giving Aang a new glider, Teo wheels over to me. "Hey Ciara, I have a present for you as well. Sokka asked Dad to make it for you." He pulls out a short, curved bow from behind his back and hands it to me. "Sokka sent Dad your measurements, so he made this bow according to draw weight and a few other specifics. He was shocked when Sokka told him how much weight you can carry. That's why the bow is so curved, because otherwise, it would be less curved so that a normal person can draw it."

I pluck at the strong and take the quiver that he hands me. "Thanks Teo, these are perfect. I used to hunt with a bow until it got burned in a fight. So to have a new one is nice."

Then, a horn sounds, and all of our allies gather together and sit down. I go up to the podium with Aang, Katara, Sokka and Toph, since we're the rallying point for this invasion. And unfortunately, less than eloquent Sokka addresses the crowd. "Good morning everyone. Ahh!" He trips, and I wince.

He gets back up and brushes himself off. "Umm…so, as you know, today, we're invading the Fire Nation! I mean I know you know that because otherwise why else would you be here?" He laughs nervously, and then gets back to his point by opening some charts. "Uh, anyway, the Fire Lord's palace is here." Then he realizes he has a chart instead of a map, so he flips through them and switches them. "Uh nope, uh wait, uh wait, uh wait, it's here, and uh, there's an eclipse today and Aang's gonna fight the Fire Lord and the firebenders won't have any fire to use so that's good for us!" Then Sokka pales and shake his head. "And…um…I'm sorry, let me start at the beginning. Katara and I discovered Aang frozen in an iceberg a couple of weeks after we found Ciara floating across the ocean on a piece of ice. Now, I didn't like either of them at first, but grew to love them over time, then we went to the Southern Air Temple where Aang used to live and then we met Suki who's a Kiyoshi warrior. She dressed me like a woman and then she kissed me, and then Aang's friend was a crazy old king and then Katara got Haru arrested and then now he's grown a mustache which if you look at him in the front row you can see it…"

"Thank you Sokka." Hakoda, thankfully interrupts Sokka, who has just been rambling aimlessly. "It's okay, why don't you take a break." Then he turns to the crowd. "Let me just clarify a few points for everyone. Today is the Day of Black Sun, and I want to thank you all for your self-sacrifice and your courage. There are two steps to the invasion, a naval stage, and then a land stage. To gain sea access to the Fire Nation capital, we need to get past our first major obstacle here." He points to the map. "The Great Gates of Azulon. Next, we hit the land and we hit hard. We must fight past their battlements and secure the plaza tower. Once we do that, it's up to the Royal Palace. At that point, the eclipse will begin."

The Boulder holds up his hand. "Excuse me, The Boulder is confused. Isn't the point to invade during the eclipse, when the firebenders are powerless?"

"The eclipse only lasts eight minutes, not enough time for the whole invasion. And the Royal Palace is heavily guarded by firebenders. So that's where we'll need the eclipse's advantage the most. When this is finished, the Avatar will have defeated the Fire Lord. We will have control of the Fire Nation capital, and this war will be over!"

The crowd starts cheering, and I decide to step forward and tell them a few things. I nod to Hakoda, who steps back and lets me speak. "Thank you all, on behalf of Team Avatar for coming here to help us with this invasion. I have a few things to tell you and to explain, including how the eclipse actually works, so that you understand how to make the most of it." That quiets them down, and I take a breath before continuing. "First of all, for those of you who haven't met Team Avatar, I suppose that I should explain something first, how I know what I'm about to tell you about firebenders." I hold up my left hand and encase it in golden fire. "As you can see, I'm a firebender. I round out the team with my firebending skills, as Katara is a waterbender and Toph is an earthbender, while Aang is a native airbender. This does not mean that I share the same ideals at those in power in the Fire Nation, so put any of those thoughts out of you minds."

Now, I get down to business. "The eclipse works in a relatively simple way. Those of you in the Water Tribe know that waterbenders get stronger at night, as well as when the moon is full. They draw their strength from the moon. Firebenders are the opposite. We draw our strength from the sun. So, similarly to when the moon spirit was…incapacitated at the North Pole, the eclipse will have a similar, albeit temporary effect on the firebenders in a similar manner. During the time when the sun is obscured, all firebenders, including myself, will lose the ability to bend any kind of fire. That also means that during the partial eclipse, our bending will be weakened, but not absent. So be careful to time it right. An error in judgement can be deadly. In addition, once the firebenders realize that their fire is gone, they will likely take up arms such as spears and swords for the duration of the eclipse. Be prepared for that."

Finally I smile. "And during the land assault, since they will likely be throwing fireballs at us, I will be part of the vanguard, and I will be doing my best to deflect as many fireballs as possible, until the time comes for me to join Aang and the rest of Team Avatar in our assault on the Fire Lord's palace during the eclipse. And before anyone asks…" I glance at The Boulder. "No, I will not be able to bend during the eclipse, so I will be taking my spear and my bow into battle with me. I like to think that I'm being prepared. In any case, that about sums up what you need to know. And just remember to stay clear of the five of us. "I glance at the rest of the team and they grin at me. "We have a bad habit of crushing, freezing, blasting, slicing and burning everything in sight when the situation gets rough. So let's fight hard and see this through to the end!" I pump my fist into the air, and I'm met with deafening cheers.

I head back to the team and I hear the cheering and whistling only slightly dying down in the crowd. It looks like this invasion is going to be a serious riot. And riots are probably what Team Avatar is best at. We all get prepared for this assault in our own way. Katara fills her water pouches; I attach the bow and quiver to my back; Toph puts on some earthbending armor; Sokka gets himself and Appa decked out in armor' and Aang changes his clothes and shaves his head to reveal his tattoos.

Now, we're ready to invade the Fire Nation.

Today is the Day of Black Sun.


	42. The Day of Black Sun

We head off towards the capital, but we run into trouble right away. Big flaming nets are raised across the entrance to the bay and boats come out to meet us. Hakoda motions to everyone. "Everyone below deck!" So we all head below deck and into the claustrophobia inducing submarines. But I opt out of the submarines and go with Aang on Appa. At least this way, if the air runs out, I can swim to the surface and not drown.

Eventually, once the submarines need to resurface for air, Aang and I break the surface as well. I stay on Appa while Aang goes to talk to Katara. But then, when they decide to have a group hug, I go over and join them in the circle of our little family. "Here we go, into battle…" I grin at them. "Let's give them hell!"

Sokka grins. "Yeah, let's show them what happens when you try to take over the world."

Aang nods, and Katara smiles. "We can do this."

"Don't get ahead of yourself." Toph punches me in the arm, which does sting a little. "Say that once we land. If you say it now, you'll jinx us."

I laugh loudly. "Alright. Then once we land, we'll give them hell!"

We have a group hug, and Hakoda does the interrupting. "Everyone, listen up. The next time we resurface, it'll be on the beaches. So stay alert, and fight smart. Now, break times over, back in the subs." And with that, our group splits up. I head over to Appa, and get set up on his head.

But, when it's time to go back under, Aang says goodbye to Katara with a kiss, and I accompany the blushing waterbender on our trip underwater on Appa, while her new boyfriend flies off on his glider. Sitting in the saddle, she bends the water around us to keep the air in, and we both silently pray for Aang to be alright off on his own. I would tease her about that little farewell kiss, but I would rather not die by drowning.

* * *

As we enter the harbor, harpoons come shooting into the water, trying to puncture the hulls of the submarines. And Appa proves to be even better at dodging them than the subs. But one of the subs gets caught, so Katara brings us out of the water and I shoot lightning at the chain, shattering it and sending the sub right back into the water.

The subs get into the bay as we fly overhead. And they surface, expelling the earthbenders' tanks as well as the Water Tribe warriors. And I glance at Katara. "Can you freeze my feet to Appa's saddle?"

She nods. "Yeah." She switches places with me, and waterbends my feet, freezing them to the leather. "I'll fly us as steady as possible."

I nod and look around. And as the fireballs start flying, I start twirling my spear, shooting some of my own to meet them in mid-air and cause lots of explosions overhead. Then, Katara lands us, and I melt my feet free and jump off Appa's back to head right to the front of the battle.

Jets of fire rage at us, so I make sure to deflect as much fire as I can so that the earthbenders can get their tanks through and start doing damage. And I grin as I see the swampbenders just causing their own brand of chaos on the battlefield, including Huu, the plantbender. He's gone and become a giant kelp monster.

* * *

But, since we need to take out the battlements, Sokka, Hakoda and Katara come flying at me on Appa, and Hakoda grabs my hand and lifts me into the saddle. "We're going to need your firepower to finish this mission."

I nod and look at the battlements. "I think I can manage a little something before the lights go off." So we fly around, destroying the various battlements with bombs, fire, ice and Appa's tail, as well as Sokka's specialty, sabotage.

But during his attack, Hakoda takes a hit and is injured badly. So we take him away from the battle so that Katara can treat him. "How does that feel, Dad?"

"Ah, a little better." He groans and tries to get up. "I need to get back to the troops."

Katara pushes him back down. "You're hurt, badly. You can't fight anymore."

"Everyone's counting on me to lead this mission, Katara. I won't let them down." He tries to get up again, but he's too injured. "Ahh!"

"Can't you heal him any faster?" Sokka watches as Katara treats their father, obviously worried.

Katara bites her lip. "I'm doing everything I can."

"I'll do it." Sokka suddenly looks very determined.

Katara rolls her eyes. "No offense Sokka, but you're not exactly Mr. Healing Hands."

"Sokka stands up. "No. I'll lead the invasion force."

Katara's eyes go wide. "Don't be crazy Sokka."

"Maybe I am a little crazy, but the eclipse is about to start, and we need to be up that volcano by the time it does." Then he turns to me. "You going to help me?"

I grin. "You know it."

Hakoda groans, and looks at his son. "You can do this. I'm proud of you son."

Katara huffs. "I still think you're crazy, but I'm proud of you too."

Sokka smiles, and climbs onto Appa. I take the reins as we fly over the battlefield. And he starts barking orders. "Listen up everyone! I want the tanks in wedge formation. Warriors and benders in the middle. We're taking that tower and heading for the royal palace." Then he takes the reins and points towards the tower. "Charge!"

I stand in the saddle and launch my fireballs at the oncoming fireballs. I provide the cover as our forces move in. then we land and a warrior reports to Sokka. "Sokka, we're on our way to victory!"

* * *

As the assault continues, I move to the front, shooting fireballs and deflecting the ones shot at us. But when Aang returns, I turn to Tyro. "Can you hold the front line? There's something I need to go check!"

He nods. "Go! We can hold it here. You should be with your friends!"

I give him a short bow, and then run off to where I see Aang land next to Sokka, Katara, Toph and Hakoda. I skid to a stop in front of them and bend over to catch my breath. "What's going on? What happened?"

"The Fire Lord is in hiding, so we're off on a mission to go find him." Sokka grins. "You in?"

I smirk. "Of course, I'm your tracking expert. You're not going on that kind of mission without me."

"Even if it's underground?" Toph smirks at me knowingly. "I know you hate being underground."

I roll my eyes pointedly. "If it means sticking with you guys, then yes, I'll go underground with you on this deathtrap of a mission. What kind of Fire Nation princess would I be if I shied away from something this important?"

So we fly off on Appa and land on the side of a mountain. Aang turns to Toph. "Do you feel anything down there?"

Toph touches the side of the volcano. "Yes. There are natural tunnels criss-crossing through the inside of the volcano."

Sokka sounds hopeful. "Anything else? Is there a structure somewhere?"

Toph searches with her earthbending, digging her fingers into the rock. "There is something big, dense, and made of metal deep in the heart of the volcano."

"Sounds like a secret bunker to me." Sokka silently celebrates, while Toph earthbends us a way inside. And we head down into the tunnels without Appa and Momo.

"This way! That one's a dead end!" Toph guides us through the tunnels, sicne she's the only one who can figure this place out.

"What would we do without you?" Sokka sticks close to her.

Toph decides that now is the perfect time to crack a morbid joke. "Perish in burning hot magma."

Sokka nods. "Yeah, pretty much."

And Toph's navigation leads us right to a magma geyser field. "The tunnel continues on the other side and it leads right to the bunker."

"We'll have to be fast, but careful." Sokka walks out onto the field, and nearly gets roasted by a magma geyser.

Aand freaks out a little. "How is that careful?"

"I was wrong. We need to be fast, careful, and lucky."

I roll my eyes. "Alright, if you don't want to end up burned, then follow me." Since I'm the firebender, I attune myself to the pulses of the magma, and I stop Sokka from roasting to death a few times.

Then, we find a huge tunnel with a lava floor. Aang and I give each other a knowing look and I take off first with fire jets coming out of my hands and feet, propelling me quickly through the torturously hot air. Aang takes Sokka and Toph across on his glider. And after that lava tunnel, we finally come to a big metal door, in a big metal bunker.

Sokka looks at the door, impressed. "That's some door!"

Toph bangs on the door, and then backs up. "Not a problem." She elbows it multiple times, then shoves her fingers in the crack, stomps her foot through, and opens the door up by bending it open. And with that, we continue our run through the mountain.

We run into what looks like a retainer. And when we threaten him with the full force of the four of us, he points down the hall. "The Fire Lord's chamber is that way, down the hall, to the left and up the stairs, you can't miss it!"

Aang suddenly smiles. "Thanks!" And we run off to follow the directions. Sokka pulls out his timing device and gives us an update. "Only thirty seconds until the total eclipse. Ciara, you might want to get your spear ready, you won't be firebending for the next eight minutes."

I slip my spear off my back and continue running with it. And when we come to a big, ornate door, Aang busts it open. But what we see is Azula sitting on the throne. "So, you are alive after all. I had a hunch that you survived. But it doesn't matter. I've known about the invasion for months."

Aang is angry now. "Where is he? Where's the Fire Lord?"

Azula stands up. "You mean I'm not good enough for you? You're hurting my feelings."

Sokka points his sword at her. "Stop wasting our time and give us the information. You're powerless right now, so you're in no position to refuse."

"And stick to the truth. I'll be able to tell if you're lying." But somehow, I don't know if Toph, our human lie detector, will be able to catch this princess in a lie. She seems far too used to lying to have her vital signs change just because of one.

And Azula seems to be thinking along the same lines as me. "Are you sure? I'm a pretty good liar. I am a four-hundred foot tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings."

Toph pauses. "Okay, you're good, I admit it." Then she traps Azula with her earthbending. "But you ought to consider telling the truth anyway!"

But the earthbending trap crumbles and Azula smiles. "When I left Ba Sing Se, I brought home some souvenirs. Dai Li agents!"

Aang swipes at them with a slice of air, but they block it with a thick earth wall. I glance at Aang. "I'm not going to be much help here; unless you can get me close to Azula without her Dai Li. Fighting trained earthbenders without my bending would be difficult at best."

Aang nods. "Then hang back for a bit, we need someone to watch our backs. Use your bow."

I grin. "Great idea." I take out my bow as Aang and Toph earthbend against the Dai Li agents. And I help by shooting some of the rocks out of the air. That is, until I lose all visuals on them because of huge rock walls.

Thankfully, Azula comes flying through the wall towards me, so I change my bow for my spear and chase her as she runs off. But as Toph, Aang and Sokka join me, Sokka stops us. "Wait! Aang! Toph! Ciara! Stop attacking! Don't you see what she's doing? She's just playing with us. She's not even trying to win this fight!"

"Not true, I'm giving it my all." Her calm demeanor pisses me right off.

Now Toph is angry. "You're trying to keep us here and waste all our time!"

Azula rolls her eyes. "Um, right, I think your friend just said that, genius. And since you can't see, I should tell you I'm rolling my eyes."

"I'll roll your whole head!" And she's baiting Toph, effectively.

"Okay, so what do we do, just ignore her?" Aang suggestion sure has merit.

Sokka sighs. "We don't have a choice. We just have to get out of here and find the Fire Lord on our own somehow."

"It's a trap. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Ignore!" Sokka insists it as he keeps walking away from her.

"So, Sokka's your name right? My favorite prisoner used to mention you all the time. She was convinced you were going to come rescue her. Of course, you never came, and she gave up on you." And Azula has successfully baited Sokka. "Come and get it."

As Sokka charge at Azula, Toph bends her hand to the wall with a rock, forcing the princess to drop her hidden dagger. Sokka grabs onto Azula's shoulder and stares her angrily in the face. "Where. Is. Suki? Where's Suki! Answer me!"

Aang grabs Sokka's shoulder. "Sokka, she won't talk."

But Sokka won't listen. "Where are you keeping her?"

A blast echoes through the base, and I know what that means. And so does Azula. "Oh, sounds like the firebending's back on." She kicks up a flame and drives Sokka away from her, then frees her hands. Then, she nearly kicks Aang. Her smirk makes me very, very angry. "Dad's all the way at the end of the hall then down a secret stairway on the left. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to see you now." And with that, she runs off, with my fire trailing behind her as I lash out angrily.

And Sokka is clearly ashamed of himself. "I fell for it! I used up all our time."

"It's not your fault Sokka. Azula was ready for us. She had every move planned out." Toph speaks quite gently, uncharacteristic of her usual blunt nature.

"And now it's too late."

And as they have an argument over whether or not to fight the Fire Lord, I run through all of the calculations in my head. "No, we need to retreat. The eclipse was the plan, it failed, and now, we need to leave. We didn't plan for this eventuality, and we should have. We were overconfident and rash, and this is the result." Then I glare at them determinedly. 'But we'll have another chance. We still have a couple of months left before Sozin's Comet, so we still have some time. Let's leave and help the invasion force."

* * *

So we rush out as quickly as we can and head straight to Appa. And once we're on Appa, we fly towards the battlefield, where there are huge war balloons in the air. It's all been a trap, so now, Aang, Katara and I have to do what we can to provide cover for the invasion forces so that they can make their escape.

Aang goes up in his glider, and I let Katara fly Appa while I start bending flames all around my body. I do what I can to set the war balloons on fire, but five of them are just too big and too strong. And despite our combined efforts, we only bring down a few balloons.

Katara looks at Aang. "We can't keep them all back! There's too many of them!"

"Let's join the others!" Aang gets closer, dodging fireballs the whole time.

When we get down to the ground, we all take cover as the airships drop a bunch of incendiary bombs on our heads. It's like a rain of fiery death. And the tanks take some serious damage. But the airships don't turn around to attack us.

Katara looks out at the airships. "Why aren't they turning around to attack us again?"

"They're heading for the beach." And at Aang's words, a sense of dread washes over me. "They're gonna destroy the submarines!"

Sokka stares at the beach hopelessly. "How are we all going to escape?"

"We're not." Hakoda and Bato approach us, looking serious.

But Sokka is determined. "Then our only choice is to stand and fight. We have the Avatar, we could still win."

"Yes, with the Avatar, we could still win. On another day." He nods to Appa. "You kids have to leave. You have to escape on Appa together."

"What?" Katara is shocked by her father's words. "We can't leave you behind! We won't leave anyone behind!"

"You're our only chance in the long run. You and Sokka have to go with Aang somewhere safe. It's the only way to keep hope alive." Hakoda is right. I don't like it, but he's right.

Bato agrees. "The youngest of our group should go with you. The adults will stay behind and surrender. We'll be prisoners, but we'll all survive the battle."

Tyro approaches us. "I've got some experience with Fire Nation prisons. It's not going to be easy, but we'll get by."

"They're at the beach already!" Sokka's voice betrays his panic.

But as we watch, despite the efforts of the waterbenders, the submarines are all destroyed, and any hope of escape is lost. So, we get on Appa, and we get Haru, The Duke and Teo into Appa's saddle along with the five of us. Everyone except me, Aang and Toph say their sad goodbyes, and Aang bows his head in respect. "Thank you all for being so brave and so strong. I'm gonna make this up to you."

And at their urging, we take off into the sky, heading away from this place. And Aang sighs. "I know just the place for us to go, where we'll be safe for a while. The Western Air Temple.

But while we fly, another attack of pain hits me, and Katara starts healing me a little, well, soothing the pain. Sokka looks over, confused. "What's wrong with her?"

I shake my head. "Just feeling a bit sick is all. I think that the eclipse did a bit more to me that I thought. I'll be fine after some rest." And I do my best to suppress any pain in my voice. And I think I've convinced them all.


	43. The Western Air Temple

We fly so long that I feel like I'm still flying when we take a break to let Appa rest. Then, since Appa is still so tired, we start walking to the Western Air Temple. Everyone else hates all the walking, but I'm fine with it since it's how I got around before I met up with Aang and the others.

But Katara is down in the dumps for another reason. "This is humiliating."

"You mean getting thoroughly spanked by the Fire Nation, or having to walk all the way to the Western Air Temple?" I glare at Sokka as he tries to get a rise out of his sister.

Katara looks at Sokka, then back at the ground. "Both."

"Sorry guys, but Appa gets tired carrying all these people." At least Aang has a good reason for making us walk, otherwise I'm sure that a couple of people in our group would complain the entire way.

Teo looks worried. "I wonder how the rest of the troops are."

"They're probably on their way to a prison. Seems like my dad just got out and now he's going back in." And Haru definitely has a point there.

The Duke is pretty unhappy. "I miss Pipsqueak."

"I miss not having blisters on my feet." And for that callous comment, I elbow Sokka hard, then walk ahead at the front of the group.

Then, Toph stamps her foot down and smiles. "Hey, we're here! I can feel it!"

"Uh, I think your feet need their eyes checked." And there goes Katara with a bad joke. I groan and roll my eyes. I've heard better jokes from animals.

We're at the edge of a cliff, and Aang looks around. "No, she's right! We are here!"

Aang gets us all on Appa and takes us down over the cliffs, and what we see is a huge, upside down set of temples. It's like the other temples, just inverted. And looking at it gives me a serious sense of vertigo. I tilt my head and end up nearly standing on my head. "Okay, it's official. This place is weird."

Aang laughs a little. "You mean because it's upside down?"

"Yeah." I sit back up right and I still feel weird. "Looking at it, I feel like I'm going to fall upwards into the sky. And if I do fall, someone had better catch me."

Aang chuckles a little as we land near a fountain. Teo, Haru and The Duke run off almost immediately to go and explore the temple, while the five of us sit down to talk and discuss our plans. And once Aang sits down, he gets to business. "So, what's the new plan?"

Sokka nods. "Well, if you ask me, the new plan is the old plan! You just need to master all four elements and confront the Fire Lord before the comet comes."

"Oh, yeah. That's great, no problem. I'll just do that." Aang voice drips with sarcasm.

"Aang, no one said it's going to be easy." Katara pats his shoulder, trying to soothe him. Then she turns to me. "Ciara, can you please teach Aang firebending?"

I bite my lip and look at the ground. "That's a difficult request. First of all, my kind of firebending is different; it's something that's been passed down exclusively in my family, along with the special kind of fire that I use. So I don't know if it would even work for Aang. Also, I'm really not suited to sitting down and teaching a student. I learn by doing things, so I don't really know how to teach anyone." Then I glance at Aang. "I guess I can help with the basics. Being, breathing, meditating, and learning control. Jeung-Jeung tried to teach you how to be patient, but you jumped the gun and it ended badly. So only take this on when you feel really ready for it. And hopefully by then, we'll have found an actual teacher for you. At least, one who can get you started on regular firebending, before I show you a few more advanced tricks."

"I don't get it, why can't you teach Aang?" Sokka looks at me, very confused. "Or do you not want to defeat the Fire Lord?"

I slam my hand down on the ground and sparks shoot out of it. "Don't you ever say that! I want the Fire Lord beaten as much as you do, probably more. It's just that the only way I could teach Aang is by sparring with him. My personal style is something I just do, I didn't learn it. And the firebending forms that I did learn are very difficult, and take a long time to learn, longer than we have. It would involve training him in an entirely different kind of martial arts, and trying to put what I learned through instinct into words. So it would be better for him to learn conventional firebending. And I don't do that."

"Well, then why don't we take a nice tour around the temple?" Aang opens his glider and takes off with Momo.

With Aang flying off, I sigh and roll my eyes. "Alright, let's follow him." We head over to Appa, take off all of the heavy armor, then get on and fly after Aang.

Katara calls out to Aang. "Aang, can we talk about you learning firebending now?"

"What? The wind is too loud in my ears! Check out this loop!" And the silly idiot goes and does a loop in the air with his glider.

"Aang, I think we should be making some plans about our future!" Sokka tries to get his attention, and fails.

"Okay, we can do that while I show you the giant pai sho table! Oh, you're gonna love the all-day echo chamber!" We all land back down in the temple and dismount to follow Aang.

Suddenly, Toph gets serious. "I think that'll have to wait." Then Appa moves out of the way and Toph points behind us, where we see none other than our old enemy Prince Zuko.

Zuko hold up his arm in greeting. "Hello. Zuko here."

Everyone immediately gets into combat positions, ready to take Zuko down in an instant. But looking at his demeanor, I have a suspicion that he's not here to hurt any of us. In fact, judging from his entrance, it seems to me that it's the opposite.

"Hey, I heard you guys flying around down there, so, I just thought I'd wait for you here." Appa growls at Zuko, then approaches him, and licks him twice, getting drool all over him.

"Pfft." I try to cover my mouth but a laugh leaks out anyway. "Nice one Appa. Defeat him with drool."

Aang lowers his staff hesitantly, seeing that Appa likes Zuko. And Zuko cleans off all of the drool. "I know you must be surprised to see me here."

"Not really, since you've followed us all over the world." And I have to admit, Sokka does have a good point.

"Right. Well, uhhh…anyway…what I wanted to tell you about is that I've changed, and I, uhhh, I'm good now, and well I think I should join your group, oh, and I can teach firebending to you." He directs that last bit at Aang. "See, I, uhhh…"

"You want to what now?" Toph is incredulous.

Katara is immediately hostile. "You can't possibly think that any of us would trust you, can you? I mean, how stupid do you think we are?"

"Yeah, all you've ever done is hunt us down and try to capture Aang!" Sokka supports his sister unconditionally, which I expected but don't really like.

But Zuko is determined to defend his intentions. "I've done some good things! I mean, I could have stolen your bison in Ba Sing Se, but I helped free him instead! That's something!" Appa licks him again.

"Appa does seem to like him." Katara and Sokka look at Toph as she points out that obvious fact.

"He probably just covered himself in honey or something so that Appa would lick him. I'm not buying it. Besides, Ciara was the one who rescued Appa." Sokka uses logic to rationalize and support his position.

So I sigh. "Sorry to shut you down Sokka, but he's right. He did help me rescue Appa in Ba Sing Se. I would have had to shoot lightning at the chain if he hadn't come along. That would have scared Appa, and blown our cover to the entire Dai Li."

Zuko looks at me gratefully. "I can understand why you wouldn't trust me, and I know I've made some mistakes in the past."

"Like when you attacked our village."

"Or when you stole my mother's necklace and used it to track us down and capture us?"

Zuko stops them. "Look, I admit I've done some awful things. I was wrong to try and capture you, and I'm sorry that I attacked the Water Tribe. And I never should have sent that Fire Nation assassin after you. I'm going to try and stop-"

Sokka pulls out his boomerang. "Wait, you sent Combustion Man after us?"

"Well, that's not his name but-"

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to insult your friend!" Sokka gets increasingly hostile.

"He's not my friend!" Zuko is getting angry and defensive, and for a firebender, that tends to get ugly quickly.

"That guy locked me and Katara in jail and tried to blow us all up!" Now it's Toph's turn to get angry.

Zuko looks at Aang desperately. "Why aren't you saying anything? You once said you thought we could be friends. You know I have good in me."

But when Aang looks at Sokka shaking his head, he lets his grudges prevail. "There's no way we can trust you after everything you've done. We'll never let you join us."

"You need to get out of here. Now." Katara takes some water out of the fountain threateningly.

"I'm trying to explain that I'm not that person anymore!"

"Either you leave, or we attack." Sokka gets ready to attack at a moment's notice.

But what Zuko does next shocks me. He shelves his pride completely. "If you won't accept me as a friend, then maybe you'll take me as a prisoner." He kneels down and raises his arms in surrender.

But Katara won't have any of that. "No, we won't!" She blasts him with water and sends him rolling backwards. "Get out of here and don't come back! And if we ever see you again, well, we'd better not see you again!"

Zuko gets up, looking pretty dejected. And when he locks eyes with me, he looks surprised. It's probably because I'm the only one not reacting to him with hostility, despite our many hostile encounters. Logically, I should hate him more than any of the others, but I don't. And the look I give him seems to make him understand that I haven't said anything because I've been vastly outvoted. So he trudges off, soaking wet and very disappointed.

So while Katara and Sokka debate about Zuko's efforts being a trap, I stay out of their petty discussion. But then Aang tells the two of them about the time that Zhao captured us, and reveals that Zuko was our rescuer.

And finally, after getting very frustrated with how the others are brushing off her attempts to defend Zuko, Toph snaps. "Katara, you're ignoring one crucial fact. Aang needs a firebending teacher! Ciara won't do it because we don't have enough time for her to teach Aang a whole new fighting style! And we can't think of a single other person in the world to do the job! Now one shows up on a silver platter, and you won't even think about it?"

"I'm not having Zuko as my teacher."

"You're darn right you're not, buddy."

"Well, I guess that settles that."

"Ergh! I'm beginning to wonder who's really the blind one around here!" Toph storms off angrily, off towards the woods.

I look at the three idiots and shake my head. "Zuko would make a good teacher for Aang. He could get Aang acquainted with the basics quickly. And once Aang builds control, and then I could see about teaching him a few advanced tricks. But without the basics and fundamentals, I can't teach Aang. But if you're decided, then I guess that that's it."

I head off towards one of the many arches in the temple, and I run into Haru, Teo and The Duke. And since they seem to be having fun, I decide to join them in their fun, which involves a crash landing in a hall full of statues when I ride on the back of Teo's wheelchair and the brakes malfunction.

* * *

During breakfast in the morning, Toph is nowhere to be found. And since no one really wants to go and look for her, since she's probably pretty grumpy right now, we just eat breakfast together before Teo, Haru and The Duke head back off to explore more of the temple, take another ride through the hall of statues, and practice earthbending in some little secret spots.

I'm tempted to join them, but a large rumble distracts me, and a pile of rocks fall out of the wall as Toph comes crawling towards us. Katara, Sokka and Aang rush over to her and Katara kneels down next to her. "Toph, what happened?"

"My feet got burned!"

"Oh no what happened?"

"I just told you, my feet got burned!"

"I meant, how."

"Well, I kind of went to see Zuko last night." And of all the foolish things she could have done, this has got to be the top of the pile.

"You what?"

"Zuko?"

"Uhhh…!"

"I thought he could be helpful to us. And if I talked to him, maybe we could work something out."

"So he attacked you?" And of course Sokka jumps to that conclusion.

"Well, he did, and he didn't. It was sort of an accident."

I look over at Toph and narrow my eyes. "You snuck up on him didn't you?" When she nods, I shake my head. "In that case, I have no sympathy for you. Sneaking up on a firebender is a bad idea, especially in the middle of the night. You were asking to get burned. And frankly, you're lucky that you got away with just burning your feet. If you had managed to scare the crap out of me in the middle of the night, you wouldn't have gotten away with such minor injuries. Don't sneak up on firebenders unless you're ambushing them. And even then, proceed with caution. If you don't, then it's your own fault if you get hurt."

I finish my breakfast and get to my feet. "Now, I'm going to sit and meditate for a bit." I walk around the fountain to the edge of the cliff and sit with my legs hanging over it. I stay still and quiet, and let the sounds of the fountain fill my ears.

Suddenly, there's an explosion right over our heads, and while the boys and Katara grab Toph, I look up to where it came from, and I see Zuko up there with the assassin. "Stop! I don't want you hunting the Avatar anymore! The mission is off. I'm ordering you to stop."

But the assassin doesn't seem to care that his employer is calling off the mission, and despite Zuko's efforts to make the assassin stop, none of them work. And Combustion Man goes and hits the temple with another explosion, forcing all of us to duck and find cover. And when I look again, I see that Zuko has fallen down the cliff, hanging on only to a vine.

So Aang springs into action and shoots a tornado at Combustion Man, before the assassin closes the distance a little and Katara hurls ice spikes at him. We run for a new cover, but Toph get scared. "He's going to blast this whole place right off the cliff side."

Katara shakes her head. "I can't step out to waterbend at him without being blown up, and I can't get a good enough angle on him from down here."

Then, Sokka gets an idea. "I know how to get an angle on him." He pulls out his boomerang, then takes a look before another explosive shot comes down. "All right buddy, don't fail me now!" And he throws the boomerang.

The boomerang miraculously hits the assassin right in the forehead, where he shoots his firebending from, and returns to Sokka. But as Combustion Man gets up and gears up for another explosion, the building around him explodes instead, and he falls down into the canyon, likely to his death.

We all go to the cliff side to investigate, but there's nothing left of the assassin to be seen. So I shrug. "I guess that works. He's not coming back here any time soon, or ever."

Though someone who does come back later is Zuko. He approaches us again, and Aang is much more receptive this time. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but…thanks, Zuko."

"Hey, what about me? I did the boomerang thing." But everyone just ignores Sokka.

Zuko walks over, much more confidently. "Listen, I know I didn't explain myself very well yesterday, I've been through a lot in the past few years and it's been hard. But I'm realizing that I had to go through all those things to learn the truth. I thought I had lost my honor, and that somehow, my father could return it to me. But I know now that no one can give you your honor. It's something you earn for yourself, by choosing to do what's right. All I want to do now is play my part in ending this war, and I know my destiny is to help you restore balance to the world." Then he turns to Toph. "I'm sorry for what I did to you. It was an accident." He bows to her apologetically. "Fire can be dangerous and wild, so as a firebender, I need to be more careful and control my bending, so I don't hurt people unintentionally."

Aang seems shocked, but there is acceptance and understanding in his gaze as well. "I think you are supposed to be my firebending teacher, not Ciara. When I first tried to learn firebending, I burned Katara, and after that, I never wanted to firebend again. But now I know you understand how easy it is to hurt the people you love. I'd like you to teach me." And Aang bows to Zuko, making his request.

Zuko bows as well. "Thank you. I'm so happy you've accepted me into your group."

"Not so fast. I still have to ask my friends if it's okay with them." He turns to Toph first. "Toph, you're the one that Zuko burned. What do you think?"

"Go ahead and let him join. It'll give me plenty of time to get back at him for burning my feet."

"Sokka?"

"Hey, all I want is to defeat the Fire Lord. If you think this is the way to do it, then I'm all for it."

"Katara?"

She sure doesn't look happy about this. "I'll go along with whatever you think is right."

Then Aang turns to me. "What about you Ciara? Your opinion could make or break this deal."

I turn to look at Zuko, I look him up and down, freaking him out a little, and then I smile. "So, they finally care what I think about you. Well, personally, I like you. I think you're an idiot, but your heart is in the right place. I'm glad that you're here to join the team. I'm really not suited to teach Aang firebending because it would just be too time-consuming to teach him an entirely new and complicated style. But you're easily going to be the better teacher." I grin eagerly. "And besides, I was kind of lonely without another firebender in the group. All of our allies are either earthbenders, waterbenders or don't bend at all, even Appa technically counts as an airbender, like Aang. So I'm kind of the odd one out." I incline my head to him. "Welcome to Team Avatar."

Zuko smiles and gets excited. "I won't let you down! I promise!"

* * *

So, Katara and Aang take care of Toph, while Sokka shows Zuko to his room. He's in the boys' area with Aang, Sokka, Haru, Teo and The Duke, while Katara, Toph and I are in the girls' area. But when I go to see Zuko, I hear Katara giving him a death threat, and I hide myself as Katara storms past.

I go to the door and watch as Zuko sits on his bed, staring at a painting of Iroh. "So, not as warm as welcome as you were hoping, but warmer than you expected?"

He flicks his eyes to me, startled. "Ciara! Uh…yeah, I guess. But at least I'm here. I know that it's what my uncle would want."

"Is it what you want?"

He blinks. "Well, yeah, I said that earlier didn't I?"

I nod. "Yes. But it doesn't matter if it's what Iroh wants or not. If it's what you want, what you truly want, I'm sure he would be fine with your decision." Then I approach him and put my hand on his shoulder. "But I think that he would be proud of you."

Zuko looks at me, a little dazed. "Thanks. For everything. You stood up for me and supported me. And a few months ago, you even helped me and my uncle get to Ba Sing Se. You were kind to us, to me, even though you had more than enough reason not to be."

I sigh and take my hand off his shoulder. "You're not the person that I hate, so I only did what was right. This is just who I am. Whether people think that I'm kind or honest or stubborn, or whatever, it doesn't really matter, I'm just me. And you're just you. So while you're with us, you should try to figure out what that means. Traveling together has allowed all of us to discover things about ourselves, and to grow into the people we are now. And it can do the same for you."

Then I smile and leave his room. I think that this will be good for him; it will toughen him up and help him grow into a person that he will like. Because having friends makes you grow in ways you don't expect, but ultimately, you like yourself more in the end.


	44. The Firebending Masters

Zuko gets started on Aang's firebending training, and I keep my nose out of it because having someone telling Zuko how to improve his stances would probably just annoy all of us. And boy, do I think that Zuko's stances need work. He's so rigid that it's almost painful to watch. But after a terrible first day, Zuko and Aang come back looking a bit disappointed, Zuko more than Aang.

We all sit around the fire for dinner, but Zuko, still feeling a bit like an outcast, doesn't get close to the fire. So I walk over to him and grab him by the arm. "Alright, you're part of this family now, so that means, you come sit by the fire with the rest of us."

He silently lets me drag him along, but when I sit down, he stays standing. "Listen everybody, I've got some pretty bad news. I've lost my stuff."

Toph raises her hands. "Don't look at me, I didn't touch your stuff."

"I'm talking about my firebending, it's gone." He says it with a straight face, so I suppose that he isn't joking about this.

Everyone is shocked and confused, but Katara just laughs. I look at her, scandalized, and Zuko looks annoyed, so Katara tries to stop. "Sorry, I'm just laughing at the irony. You know, how it would've been nice for us if you lost your firebending a long time ago."

He looks a combination of worried, ashamed, and embarrassed. "Well, it's not lost. It's just…weaker for some reason."

"Maybe you're not as good as you think you are." Katara's remark hurts, and Toph seems to agree with me. "Ouch."

Then Zuko gets an idea. "I bet it's because I changed sides."

"That's ridiculous." Katara, not believing his story, drinks the rest of her soup haughtily.

"I don't know. Maybe it isn't." Aang thinks about it. "Maybe your firebending comes from rage, and you just don't have enough anger to fuel it the way you used to."

I nod in agreement. "For us firebenders, our power is fueled by our emotions. The stronger our emotions, the more power we have." I stare at the fire, smile, and conjure up a particularly happy memory of fighting with Katara at the North Pole, and all of the fun we had during our duels. And in response, the fire flares and shoots ten feet in the air. "But the Fire Nation trains its firebenders to use anger and rage as their source of power. It's a strong source, to be sure, but it's also volatile and dangerous."

"So, all we need to do is make Zuko angry! Easy enough." And Sokka gets a little too excited about poking Zuko with his sword.

"Okay! Cut it out!" And Zuko does get angry, at least, angry enough to scare the sword out of Sokka's hand. "Look, even if you're right, I don't want to rely on hate and anger anymore. There has to be another way."

Toph shovels a little more food into her mouth, and then clears her throat. "You're gonna need to learn to draw your firebending from a different source. I recommend the original source."

"How's he supposed to do that? By jumping into a volcano?" Sokka is so stupid sometimes.

"No, Zuko needs to go back to whatever the original source of firebending is."

"So is it jumping into a volcano?"

"I don't know. For earthbending, the original benders were badger moles." And now, Toph gets started on telling us how she once got lost as a kid, and she was found by blind badger moles. And because they were all blind, they connected, and they taught her how to earthbend. How it became her way of interacting with the world.

"I learned from the monks, but the original airbenders were the sky bison." Aang looks over at Appa. "Maybe you can give me a lesson sometime, buddy."

"Well this doesn't help me. The original firebenders were the dragons, and they're extinct." Zuko is frustrated and irritated.

And Aang is a little confused by that. "What do you mean? Roku had a dragon, and there were plenty of dragons when I was a kid."

Zuko look angry and guilty. "Well they aren't around anymore, okay?"

Everyone looks at me, and Aang looks hopeful. "Hey, what about you, Ciara? Do you know where to go for the original source of firebending? Yours is different to any firebending I've ever seen."

That immediately makes me rather nervous. "Uh…well…that's…complicated." I bite my lip and sigh. "My ancestors didn't learn from dragons. The golden fire we use comes from another source, that's why the style I use is so complicated. But even knowing the legends…I've never seen or even heard of a phoenix ever even being real, let alone where to find one. The closest thing I know of is the phoenix form that my fire takes on when my emotions come to a boil, and that hardly helps in this situation. Jeez, if I could find an actual phoenix, then I would probably be a real firebending master by now. But to be frank, I've got nothing. Sorry…"

So, Zuko and Aang decide to go poking around the ruins of a civilization that practiced firebending, to hopefully find some kind of clue as to how the original firebending worked. Their ruins are nearby, so it sounds like the two of them are going to go on a day trip to learn firebending.

* * *

But when they don't come back at the end of the day, I start getting worried. And their day trip turns into a three day trip, and the two of them come back looking quite pleased with themselves. Aang is so eager to show us what they learned that he and Zuko go ahead and dance for us. "With this technique the dragons showed us, Zuko and I will be unstoppable." And the two finish the dance with a flourish.

"Yeah, that's a great dance you two learned there." And of course Sokka can't resist teasing them.

Zuko immediately gets embarrassed and defensive. "It's not a dance. It's a firebending form."

Sokka continues teasing them. "We'll just tap-dance our way to victory over the Fire Lord."

"It's a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old!"

"Oh yeah? What's your little form called?" Now Katara gets in on the teasing.

Zuko blushes and rumples his hair. "The Dancing Dragon."

Everyone burst out laughing, including me. But I know that the fire dances are the most powerful of the firebending forms. They are energy and freedom, and the true essence of firebending. That, and they're just a whole lot of fun.

I smirk at Zuko and Aang. "Don't worry, I know how powerful the dance forms are. In fact, the style I use is comprised almost entirely of that type of form. It's far more complicated than what you two just demonstrated, being a whole lot longer. But the basic idea is the same. The dances are ancient and powerful. They draw out a primal essence in a firebender. They express the emotions that fuel our fire, strengthening the chi that we take out of ourselves to turn into fire. And the power of a form, depends entirely on the complexity and application of a dance. Used by a master, there is nothing stronger."

Aang looks at me in wonder, then he smiles. "I think I'm going to enjoy learning firebending." That makes me smile. Firebending may be dangerous, but it isn't evil. And for those who live it, it becomes a natural, and intractable part of life. Without it, I wouldn't be whole.

Zuko starts fitting in to our little group, even making tea for all of us. "No one can make tea like Uncle, but hopefully I learned a thing or two." He smiles. "Would you like to hear Uncle's favorite tea joke?"

"Sure." Katara surprises me, she doesn't sound nearly as hostile as she did before. I consider this to be quite an improvement.

Aang brightens up considerably. "I like jokes."

"Bring it!" Toph is excited, obviously expecting a good joke.

"Okay. Well I can't remember how it starts, but the punc line is 'Leaf me alone, I'm bushed!'." He gets no response to his joke, since it kinda blew over us all. "It's funnier when Uncle tells it."

Katara rolls her eyes. "Right…maybe because he remembers the whole thing."

We all laugh now, and I smile at Zuko. "I think it starts like this. 'What did the tea leaf say to the teapot?' And then your punch line." I smirk at him playfully, knowing that I got one over on him. But I have to admit, teasing Zuko is quickly becoming one of our favorite pastimes. And most of us have been participating with enthusiasm.


	45. The Boiling Rock

One morning, Sokka and Zuko are gone, and there is a note in their place. They were acting suspiciously when Sokka dragged Zuko off to talk, but now, it's getting a little worrisome. Apparently, the two of them went on a fishing trip. But despite everyone else buying it, I have my doubts. If Sokka wanted meat, he could have just asked me to go hunting. I can get enough meat for all of us in a single hunt, so this little trip doesn't make any sense.

Something else is going on, and either Sokka dragged Zuko into it, or Zuko made Sokka take him along. And to be frank, it could be either one. Though having both of them gone worries me, because Zuko has a volatile temper, and Sokka is almost as short-tempered as our newest member.

But despite being gone, Zuko's note includes some homework for Aang. Ten hot-squats and twenty fire fists every time he hears a badger frog croak. And considering the population of frogs here, I pity the poor boy.

So with Aang's primary firebending teacher gone, I watch over his training, and every time he makes fire, I keep careful watch and make notes on his form. His style is far more dance-like than Zuko's, probably as an effect of being originally trained as an airbender. But I suppose that we'll have to wait and see if Zuko's style has changed as well. And if it has, how significantly. Personally, I think that a hybrid style would suit Zuko best, since habits are hard to break, and he has the build to hold a more solid stance than Aang.

Aang stands in the middle of a wide open patch of the temple, and starts punching and kicking into the air, producing fire from his extremities. I watch carefully, noting his balance in particular. "Aang, you need to be a little less light on your feet. You need a little more grounding in order to produce more fire."

He looks at me, then nods. "Alright, I'll try it." And he strengthens his stance a little before continuing. And as expected, the slight change in stance does wonders for the power of his strikes.

Between his homework from Zuko and my supervision and pieces of advice, Aang works his arrow off to practice his firebending. He's far from being a master, but he's improving, and quickly.

* * *

Three boring days later, Zuko and Sokka return with a huge airship. And none of us can quite figure out how they managed to get it, or why they brought it back with them. Katara is very confused as to why her brother was flying it. "What are you doing in this thing? What happened to the war balloon?"

Zuko shrugs. "It kind of got destroyed."

"Sounds like a crazy fishing trip." Despite the comment, I'm pretty sure that Aang's long since figured out that they didn't go off on a fishing trip.

Toph jumps straight to the point. "Did you at least get some good meat?"

"I did." Sokka smiles. "The best meat of all. The meat of friendship and fatherhood." To me, that sounds like a bad joke. That is, until Suki and Hakoda comes walking out of the airship.

And they've got one extra, who raises his hand and waves. "I'm new. What's up everybody?"

Katara is more concerned with her father standing right in front of her, and tears well up in her eyes. "Dad?" She runs to him, right into his arms.

Hakuoda smiles. "Hi, Katara."

Finally, she starts demanding some answers. "How are you? What is going on? Where did you go?"

"We kind of went to a Fire Nation prison." Sokka says it so nonchalantly, that I'm really starting to question his sanity. You don't just walk into a Fire Nation prison. It's never that simple. But Hakoda pulls his son into the hug, and the three of them have a heartwarming family reunion.

But Toph is a little ticked. "Seriously? You guys didn't find any meat?"

I roll my eyes. "Alright, if it's meat you want, then I suppose I could go out hunting." I get up from my nice comfortable spot near the fire and grab my bow. "I'll be back in a few hours with something fresh."

I head off and climb the cliffs to where there is a forest teaming with wildlife. I quickly put my tracking skills to use and manage to track down a couple of deer. I use my bow to kill both of them, and I drain their blood right there, since I don't really want to get animal blood all over one of the Air Temples. Out of respect for the vegetarian culture of Aang's people, of course. Though the meat is required, since there are about a dozen of us to feed now. The main problem will be carrying so much weight back to the camp and down the cliff.

As I drag the two deer out of the woods, a big furry mass lands in front of me. A very familiar furry mass. I look up and see Sokka and Zuko staring at me. Sokka is flying Appa, and Zuko is smirking at me. "You know, if you were planning to carry both of those back to camp, then I think you would run into a little trouble with the cliffs."

I roll my eyes. "I would have figured out a way around it. If you haven't noticed yet, I'm pretty good at that."

Zuko jumps down and takes one of the deer. "We'll take them back on Appa. So try not to fall down the cliff."

I huff impatiently. "I'm not going to fall down the cliff." I heft the other deer over my shoulder and walk around to climb up Appa's tail. "You're the one who's more likely to fall down a cliff. Or have you forgotten that you nearly fell into the chasm when that assassin attacked? If I were you, I would less concerned with me, and more concerned about yourself." Zuko snorts with amusement, obviously not taking me very seriously. But that's his mistake, because I'm not one to be underestimated.

After plopping the two deer down in the saddle, Sokka flies Appa back to our camp, making the return trip much shorter than the trip out. Once we get back, Sokka and Zuko unload the two deer, and I flip off Appa's back and walk over to where there is a bucket for me to wash my hands in. I like to have clean hands when I'm cutting up dead animals.

I sit away from the fire, skinning and disembowelling the two deer. Then I turn to Sokka. "Hey, sokka, come here."

He waddles over, probably a little sore from sitting on Appa so long. "Yeah? What do you need?"

I toss him a knife and point to the ground next to me. "Sit, I'm going to teach you how to get a deer ready for cooking." He's accustomed to fish and seals, not to large, four-legged animals, so teaching him this should prove to be a good skill for him. "If I did this alone, it would take me forever."

So he sits down next to me and turns the knife over. "Then please teach me." I grin at him, and get right to work showing him how to most efficiently cut apart a deer.

Once we're finished cutting up the deer meat, Katara prepares the stew, and Sokka gets some of the meat roasting on a couple of spits. It's a good thing I brought back two deer; otherwise we wouldn't have enough food to feed everyone. But, despite our large group, everyone gets as much food as they want. And the leftovers from the spit-roasting get turned into dried meat, to save it for the next couple of days.

A very difficult couple of days.


	46. Tale of Blood

The next day, everyone else is having leftover stew and dried meat for dinner, and Appa is being harassed by Momo again. If we weren't in the middle of a war, all of this would seem normal. But along with Aang, Katara, Sokka and Toph, the ones gathered around our fire are Teo, Haru, The Duke, Suki, Katara and Sokka's father, Hakoda, and Chit-Sang. And the newest member of Team Avatar, Zuko.

In the shadows of the Air Temple, Sokka decides to try and scare everyone. "Alright, I'm going to tell you all a scary story. Well, Aang, Katara, Toph and Ciara already know it. Actually, Ciara's the one who told it. But it was way better than my story."

My blood runs a little cold as I realize what he's doing. "Wait, you're going to tell them that story?"

He nods. "Is that a problem? Do you want to tell it instead?"

An ache in my heart refuses to go away. "No…it's fine…go ahead and tell them the story."

Sokka pumps a fist into the air, then grins a little evilly. "Now, this is based on a true story, according to Ciara." He waves his hands through the air dramatically. "Out in the remote reaches of the Earth Kingdom was a secret settlement of firebenders. They got along fine with their neighbouring villages, and no one came around to bother them."

So far, he's doing a good job of telling it. "Then, a group of soldiers found the settlement, looking for the people who lived there. But when they broke into the settlement, there was no one home…"

Teo gulps. "What happened? Where were all the people?"

Sokka grins. "They were out for a picnic."

The Duke crosses his arms. "This doesn't sound scary."

Toph shakes her head. "That's what I thought too…"

Sokka coughs, getting their attention again. "They were all out for a picnic, because it was the leader's daughter's birthday. She was…" He taps his head. "How old was she? Five?"

"Six." I glance at him, then back at the ground. "She was six years old that day."

"Yeah, six!" Sokka grins and continues. "So to celebrate her birthday, the whole settlement, that family, went out for a picnic. It was a beautiful day for a picnic, with white clouds and blue skies, and plenty of sun. And everything was going well, until the soldiers found them having their day out."

Everyone suddenly stops fidgeting and they all pay rapt attention to Sokka, Zuko included. "The soldiers attacked, bringing down the grandparents first. They burned them into ash, leaving nothing left." Everyone is so silent that I can hear the crickets chirping. "But that wasn't the end of it, the girl's father stood up to protect his wife and daughter, taking on the leader of the soldiers in an Agni Kai."

I bite my lip at this part, but Sokka continues. "Everything within a mile was burned into ash. That's how powerful their fire duel was. Only the soldiers, and the wife and daughter were spared the wrath of the flames. That man refused to give up protecting his family. After a mighty cry of pain, the dust settled, and only one of them was still standing."

Haru is looking pale. "Who? Which one was still standing?"

Sokka's face becomes grim. "The leader of the soldiers. He held up the burned and bloodied corpse of his opponent. He'd killed the little girl's father in the Agni Kai. Then, he threw the corpse to the ground, and had his soldiers restrain the mother, and bring the girl to him."

Shivers go up and down my spine, and the metal in my back tingles a little as I remember the day that Ozai gave me this curse. That was the day that he took everything away from me. My past, as well as my future.

"When he had the little girl in his clutches, he took metal irons and branded the girl's back while her mother watched. Her screams could be heard for miles, but no one came to their rescue." Sokka's expression darkens. "And when they were done with the little girl, they tied her up and tied her to a tree. And they forced her to watch while they tortured and murdered her mother." He must have censored a little of the story for our younger audience, not that I blame him, it's not a pleasant part of the story to hear.

Katara shifts uncomfortably, but doesn't stop her brother from continuing. "Then, after the soldiers left the girl to die, burned and bleeding, she called on the power of a guardian spirit to help her. It gave her power, enough power to free herself and escape. She took some of her mother's clothes and tore them up, using them as bandages, before wandering out into the wilderness. To this day, there are rumors about a little girl, one who resembles the girl from back then, surfacing from time to time. But she always disappears again, like a ghost. She disappears so quickly, that most people don't even believe she was there in the first place, or that she even exists. But the rumors persisted, including some about her traveling the world with her guardian spirit, never looking back, and never letting the people who slaughtered her family capture and kill her as well. And even now, her spirit roams the earth, looking for a place to call home."

He ends the story, and I resist the urge to curl up into a ball and cry. Aang breathes out the breath he was holding in. "Man, I'll never get over how creepy that story is."

Katara shakes her head. "It's not creepy, it's sad. That poor girl, left all alone in the wilderness. And to have to watch her family get murdered in front of her eyes…who knows what that could do to a child?"

Teo looks a little upset. "But what about the girl? You said that it was based on a true story right? Does that means that you guys have met the girl?"

Sokka frowns. "Uh, I don't think so. But you'd have to ask Ciara, she's the one who told us the story first." He looks to me. "So, have you met her?"

I laugh bitterly. "In a manner of speaking. She's not exactly someone that I can meet." I mull an idea over in my head, and I figure that it's about time they know the truth. "But you have. All of you have met her. And more than once."

Aang gets a little freaked out. "Wait, what!? We've met her? When?"

Toph blows her bangs away from her face. "Well I haven't. I don't do spirits. That's Aang's thing."

I shake my head. "Not a spirit…"

A horrible look of realization dawns on Katara's face. "Wait a minute…a girl that we've all met, from a family of firebenders in the Earth Kingdom, and now an orphan, who traveled the world alone. She seems to appear and disappear like a ghost." She bites her lip and a few tears start to form in her eyes. "Don't tell me…"

Aang seems to catch on. "No…you can't be serious Katara." He looks at me, a mixed expression of sympathy and horror. "You? You're the girl from the story?"

I feel cold, empty and dead inside at his words. "I did say that it was based on a true story. I just left out some of the more gruesome details. I don't want to traumatize all of you the same way." But judging from the expressions, they're all still a little traumatized by the story anyway.

Zuko, who hasn't said a thing since Sokka started telling the story, looks over at me, his voice quiet. "Who was the one who fought your father?"

I scoff at his words, thinking of the irony of his question. "That's not something that you want to know the answer to."

He frowns painfully. "I want to know. Who was it?"

I catch and hold his gaze, trying to contain all of the negative emotions that would spill out of me if I had any less self-control. "The one who led the soldiers to our settlement ten years ago was the son of the Fire Lord. Prince Ozai, as he was called at the time. The one who dueled and killed my father, was your father."

It's almost like I can see everything clicking together in his head. And his expression morphs from frustration, to shock, to horror, and then, surprisingly, to guilt. He hangs his head in shame. "I'm sorry, I had no idea…"

I glare at the fire, and it starts to dance a little wildly. "Now do you see why I've kept so many secrets? My loyalty and intentions have been questioned because I'm a firebender, because I'm a mysterious orphan traveling alone, because I'm different." I glance at Sokka, who looks away guiltily. "But there's the truth. I have more reasons than anyone else here to want Fire Lord Ozai brought down."

The fire flares again, climbing higher into the sky. "Sozin slaughtered us and drove us from our home on Ember Island. He branded those who remained, a mark of treason. Azulon continued the practice, instead of leaving us well enough alone. We were no threat to him, but he brought his troops over, committing another systematic elimination of most of my family, and branding those who remained. But despite that, we held true to our beliefs and continued our practices. But our numbers dwindled, and in the past four decades, I was the only child born. I'm the last of my family, because ten years and four months ago, Ozai came with soldiers, and exterminated what was left of my family. I was the only one who survived, but I should have died that day, just like everyone else." The fire illuminate my face briefly. "Just like them…"

I sigh and get to my feet, letting the fire die down. "I'm going to go sit on the ledge and look at the canyon. If there's an emergency, come get me. If not, then just…tease Zuko or something. You all seem to enjoy that."

"Hey!" Zuko sounds a little alarmed, and a slight smile rises to my face as I walk away. Hopefully that will keep the others off my back for a while.


	47. A Brush with Death

I spend a day by myself, communing with nature, and generally just calming my emotions from my outbursts yesterday. But a little monk is determined to not let me take any more time for a break, and he calls over to me. "Hey Ciara! Do you think that you could teach me some of your firebending now? It looks really pretty, like what Zuko and I saw when we went to find the original source of firebending."

I glance back at him, and then at Zuko, who has a look of surprise on his face. "Aang, you already have a teacher. Besides, my firebending is a combination of ancient forms and my personal style; it's not something that I can just teach you. And haven't we had this conversation before? I thought that you would give up after I turned you down four times."

He gets a sad look on his face. "Yeah, but it's pretty. And it's not like I couldn't learn it. You move like an airbender." Then he gets these big puppy eyes and he basically starts begging. "Pretty please. I have better control now. And we're on a mountain, so it's not like we can burn this place down."

I sigh and roll my eyes, figuring that there's no harm in showing him. And who knows, if he picks it up, then maybe this style won't die out so soon. "All right, fine. I suppose at least one person should learn this from me." I get to my feet and brush the dust off my pants. "Then let's find somewhere to spar, this is going to get hot."

I lead Aang off to a nice open area and I start to stretch. "Alright, you might want to stretch as well Aang, this is not the easiest style to learn, it's partly self-taught, partly adapted from the movements of waterbenders and airbenders, and partly derived from an ancient style that my family used."

Now, for the principles. "The thing to remember is this. I do not control fire. I am fire. It is the air I breathe, the water I drink, and the food I eat. It is a part of me, and it is my whole being. That is what keeps me grounded. Whenever I think I'm going to lose myself, I just remember one simple thing. I am fire itself. I am power, ferocity, freedom. I am heat and flame and light. What fuels my fire is not anger or rage, or any negative emotion. To me, those emotions do very little for me in battle. My fire becomes wild and dangerous. Passion, determination, pride, confidence, happiness, love, and the desire to protect the people I hold dear. My power is at its strongest, fiercest, and most controlled when I am full of feelings for my friends. That is what fuels my fire, and why, unlike many other firebenders, I am more pleasant and level-headed."

Aang's eyes go wide. "Wow, I never knew that you thought about it that way."

I smile at him. "There's a lot that you don't know about me. But you already know most of the important stuff. The rest, I'll try to keep to myself as long as possible. There are a few things that I just prefer keeping to myself, kind of like with you and whatever your life was like living with the monks."

"That's fair." He seems to understand my wishes, and he doesn't press me on the issue.

"Good, now should we get started?" I smirk at him. "Because this is going to be very entertaining for me, and I want to get started as soon as possible."

He bows politely to me. "Of course, teacher."

So I have him take up a stance that melds the styles of airbenders and waterbenders together, a fluid stance that can shift and change at the slightest provocation. He copies my movements as I seem to dance around. Like melding martial arts and festival dancing, a way of fighting to make the most of one's body.

Then, we add the fire. I help him to guide the fire around his body, to live it, breathe it, and become it. And once he finds himself properly in tune with it, he starts improving his control of it, and his control of himself. All of this traveling and learning seems to have done wonders for his self-discipline, so unlike the first time that he tried to firebend, over half a year ago, and the fire doesn't rage out of control, like it usually does with beginners.

I smile at him as he starts to really memorize my movements, and even use them against me. "Very good Aang, you've quickly understood the point of this style, if only instinctually. But that's another point. My dance, my fighting style, is fluid, free, and instinctual. It is always subject to change, and change is good. I adapt, I learn, and I grow, and that is why my style is nothing like conventional, rigid, and power oriented styles that are taught in the Fire Nation."

"Thank you for teaching me." He bows again and starts heading over to Katara and Toph, who have been watching this little spar.

* * *

Suddenly, pain tears through my chest, and Aang looks back at me, panicking, as I lose my balance and collapse. "Ciara! What's wrong? What happened?"

I cough violently as fluid slowly seeps into my lungs, and blood stains the ground in front of me. "Damn it, looks like I'm out of time."

"Hey Twinkle Toes! What did you do to her?" Toph runs over and turns me over, and then she touches the blood and brings it to her nose, sniffing it. "Hey Katara, get over here. She's bleeding!"

Katara appears next to me and locks eyes with me. "It's happening? I thought that you said that you would make it until the battle."

I breathe hard, and I cough up more blood. "I thought that I could. But it seems that I've pressed too hard, and now, I have to pay the price for my power. The price for being born."

Katara's gaze hardens, and she looks like she's trying not to cry. "No, we've got Toph, maybe she can do something. Between my healing and Toph's metalbending, maybe we can get them out."

I blink at her, my body relaxing and my vision sharpening. "Do whatever you want. If you fail, nothing changes. I accepted my fate a long time ago."

Aang appears in my field of vision. "What's wrong with her? What does she mean by accepting her fate?"

I smile at him. "It means that I'm about to die. I've known for a while that my time was coming to an end. I'm sorry for not telling you, but I was hoping that I would last until the battle. I was going to tell you after the battle, assuming that I survived it."

He looks sad and hurt. "What's killing you? Is there a way for you to get better?"

I look at him sadly. "Only a few people know how to help me, and none of them are here. And I doubt that Zuko's father has told him what's been done to me."

Aang's eyes widen. "Then we should ask him if he knows how to help you. It couldn't hurt to try." He picks me up, an impressive feat, considering that I'm several inches taller than him. Then he turns to Katara. "I'm going to take her back to our camp. You and Toph need to hurry as well."

He uses his airbending to take off towards the camp. It's getting hard to breathe, what with the metal spikes poking into my lungs. They haven't gotten very far yet, and what I haven't told them is what kind of death this will cause me. I figured that it would be cruel to tell them, and that it would be best if I waited until they all fell asleep, then find the best way to kill myself.

Instead, Aang carries me right into the camp and sets me down near the fire. "Ciara, we're going to find a way to help you."

Sokka and Haru rush over obviously worried, since I've never needed to be carried before. Sokka takes one look at me and notices the blood. "Aang, what happened? Did your sparring get too violent?"

Aang shakes his head. "It wasn't me. But we need Zuko. He might know how to stop…" Aang looks at me. "He might be able to help her with what she's going through." He glances at Haru, who runs off to go find the prince.

I laugh bitterly. "Don't sugar-coat it Aang. You've found out, and it was only a matter of time before everyone else knew. You can go ahead and say it, nothing is going to change, and it won't hurt my feelings to hear you say it out loud."

His face twists up in pain, emotional pain from seeing me in this state. "No, you're going to be fine, you're not going to die."

"What's this about dying?" Zuko's voice comes from somewhere behind Aang and Sokka. But they block my view of pretty much everything, so I can't really tell exactly where he is.

Aang turns his head quickly. "Good, Haru found you. Now come here, Ciara needs help. She's hurt."

Zuko walks over and I see him leaning over Aang. "Isn't Katara your healer? What good would I be?"

"Because I can't heal her." Katara arrives with Toph, and they're carrying some herbs that they found on the way back. "I can only ease the pain as it comes. I don't know how to…" She grimaces harshly, still feeling some disdain for Zuko. "Remove the problem."

"The problem?" Zuko looks at me curiously. "What's wrong with her?"

Katara sighs. "Aang, can you sit her up? And take off her shirt, there's another shirt underneath it with no back to it, so don't worry about taking off the outer layer. And Toph, you need to take a look at her back."

Toph rolls her blind eyes. "Should I remind you that I can't look at her back?"

"You'll be able to look at this, trust me." Katara pushes Toph towards me as Aang sits me up and slides my outer shirt off my shoulders. It drops to the ground as Aang moves my hair over my right shoulder. And I hear him gasp in surprise as he sees my back.

Toph places her hands on my back, moving them around, and then smacking my back with her hands. "Wow, you've got a lot of metal in your back, how did that happen?"

I bite my lip and try to stay quiet, despite the pain ripping through my back. "It was done when I was six years old. Ozai found out that my family was hiding me, and he came to remind us all that we are traitors for not willingly complying with Sozin's desire to completely unify the Fire Nation under his thumb. We stood against him and his plans for war, conquest and expansion. So, we were massacred, overthrown, and what remained of our house was exiled, carrying this special brand to mark us as traitors. Special, because for powerful firebenders like us, it's nothing more than a death sentence. We are condemned to either live a life without our bending, or a life that shortens every time we use it."

Aang looks horrified. "So, you mean that every time you use your firebending, you're basically killing yourself? Why would you do that?"

I glare at him. "Because asking me to stop firebending is the same as telling me to die. It's part of who I am. And if I can't be myself, then what's the point in living. Yes, firebending is what's killing me. But only because these damned spikes in my back melt and cool every time I bend, and they've slowly been making their way to my internal organs. They're tearing me apart from the inside out." I laugh bitterly. "This is what it really means to be branded and exiled."

Toph presses gently on my back. "How come no one ever took these out before? The way that they're stuck in you now, it's going to be impossible to pull them out without killing you."

I sigh heavily. "Because we never figured out how. And everyone who tried to have theirs taken out, died, mostly of bleeding to death. The only people who know how are the Fire Lord's immediate family."

"So that's what Uncle was taking about." I turn my head to see Zuko looking at my back, shocked and disgusted. "He showed me a technique for heating metal into a molten state. But he said that it was only for removing metal from victims of…" His eyes widen and he looks like he's been stabbed. "Victims of our family's cruelty…"

I shake my head. "You didn't do this, so don't look at me like that. Nnngh." I clutch my ribs as I start coughing again. I raise one hand to my mouth, and I cough until the feeling finally settles. But when I bring my hand away from my mouth, it's covered in blood. I smirk with bitterness and resentment. "Looks like it won't be long now, a couple of days at most…"

"Not happening!" Aang looks at me angrily. Then he looks at Zuko. "You said that you know how to remove the metal?"

Zuko nods. "I think so. But it's difficult and complicated, and it will take time, probably at least an hour or two. It's a delicate process, and delicate is not my specialty, so that will slow me down some more."

Aang nods, and then turns to Toph. "Do you think that you could help get the metal out once it's been melted?"

"Sure thing Twinkle Toes. A little metal is no match for me." Toph rubs my back carefully. "There's about two pounds of metal in her back, enough to make bracelets for everybody."

I chuckle a little. "Great idea, let's make some bracelets out of the curse in my back. Better that they be decorations than torture and execution tools."

Aang's expression gets serious as he looks at Katara. "I know that you hate it, but I need to ask you anyway. Can you use bloodbending to help her? You could keep her still, and keep her from bleeding out."

Katara's breath hitches in her throat, but she nods and calms herself. "I don't like the idea of using bloodbending on anyone, but if it's for saving her life, then yes, I'll do it. We have a full moon rising into the sky. And since I'm the only actual healer here, I'll decide how to set this up." She turns to Zuko first, a sour look on her face. "Can you perform this technique while she is lying down?"

He shakes his head. "Not if she's lying on her stomach. And if she were lying on her back, then there would have to be a hole in the surface for me to work through. And I would have to be careful not to let any of the metal drip on me."

"I can take care of that." Toph suddenly takes her hands off my back and jumps to her feet. A few seconds later, a sharp rumbling shakes the ground, and a rock table, slightly slanted, and a few feet off the ground, forms from the stone below us.

And now, Katara really takes over, ignoring her distaste and distrust of Zuko, all for my sake. "Alright, everyone else, back away. Zuko, put Ciara on the table and move her around until you think you've got a good position to work from. Toph, you need to make sure that none of the metal gets left behind, or drips onto Zuko." Then she cracks her knuckles and shakes her hands out. "We also need to keep her still, so she'll need to be held down."

Zuko picks me up and places me gently on the stone table, pain still prominent in his eyes. And Toph pokes her head over the other side of the table. "If she needs to be held down, then that's easy." She smacks her hand on the stone table and rock restraints circle my wrists, ankles, and around my stomach. "There, now she's not going anywhere."

I try to squirm a little, but Toph is right, I'm not going anywhere. "Well, pinned to a table and about to go through quite a bit of pain. Funny, this could have gone a whole different way if there wasn't a chance that this could kill me."

Toph and Zuko disappear from my view, and Katara appears instead. "Alright, it looks like we're ready to start. Sokka is off boiling some water and herbs so that we can disinfect your wounds. But from what I saw, this is going to hurt. We could wait and find something to give you for the pain, but that could take a while to find."

I shake my head. "Pain is something I'm well acquainted with." I breathe deeply and close my eyes. "The sooner this is over with, the better. And no matter how it turns out, at least I'll finally be free."

There is silence as I concentrate on breathing. Then I feel my blood start to writhe a little, which means that Katara has started with her bloodbending. Then, my back starts getting warm, and I know that Zuko has started melting the metal out of my back, drop by drop. And I can feel Toph's metalbending tugging on the spikes in my back, trying to dislodge them slowly.

As the heat increases, I groan a little. I squirm without meaning to, but Katara uses her bloodbending to hold me down. "It's alright Ciara, just relax. Zuko and Toph are working as fast as they can."

I grit my teeth and groan again. "I know that. But that doesn't change the fact that it hurts." My body trembles as the bits of metal move closer to my heart. "I think I'd rather you just kill me now."

"Don't say that. You're not going to die." Katara holds my hand and smiles. "You're going to be fine. Just stay calm, stay still, and breathe. You're going to be fine." She repeats it over and over, as though trying to convince herself.

The metal burns on the way out, and with the number of spikes I my back, this is probably going to take forever. I feel a painful tugging, and then Zuko presses his hand to my lower back, changing the angle slightly. "Toph, pull it out now, slowly, and gently. It's still a bit stuck, but it should be hot enough for you to twist it out."

"Alright, here we go." I feel her bending tugging on my back, and within five minutes, the first of the metal spikes, whittled down to almost nothing, is ripped out of my back with an excruciatingly painful wrenching sensation.

"AHHHHHHHHHGGG!" I strain against the restraints, trying to escape the pain. Tears form in my eyes and I clench my fists, digging my nails into my palms.

Katara places her hands on my shoulders. "Ciara, it's okay, it's going to be okay." The she looks over her shoulder. "Aang, come here and help me hold her down."

As Aang approaches, Katara lets go of me and disappears from my sight. The blood dripping out of my back soon stops, and my blood starts writhing again. That must mean that Katara is using her bloodbending to keep me from bleeding out.

Aang looks down at me and touches my shoulders firmly. "How about we talk while they work on your back. A distraction might help you forget the pain."

My eyes flick to him. "What kind of talking did you have in mind?"

Aang taps his chin, and then grins. "How about you tell me about that golden fire you use. I've seen a lot of firebenders, but none of them use the color of fire that you do. You said that it had something to do with a phoenix right? Tell me about that!"

I smile a little, but it leaves a slightly bitter taste in my mouth. "I'm not sure how it really started; there are a few stories about it. Something about a phoenix giving one of my ancestors a special power, a golden flame. I think it's bogus, but it's as good an explanation as any. Anyway, that power has been passed down through every generation of my family. Proof of our lineage, I guess. If you have golden fire, you're from an ancient royal line, awesome. It was also a helpful identifier for those who hated my family. It's kind of hard to hide when you burn with golden light."

Aang looks like he regrets asking. "Sorry, that was an insensitive question."

I shake my head lightly. "No, it's fine. I suppose that someone should know. It's also the reason why every single person in my family has been born a firebender. No exceptions. And no matter how much blood we bring in from the outside, that power never seems to weaken. So again, anyone who wields a golden flame is related to me."

Another wave of pain rips through me as Toph works out another of the metal studs. Zuko presses his hands against my back gently. "Don't worry; this is going faster than I thought. We might be done in as little as an hour. Just try to stay conscious."

"Why can't we just knock her out?" Toph's question makes sense, and I want to know why as well.

"Because if she falls asleep before we're finished, she might never wake up. At least, that's what my uncle told me."

I groan loudly. "Then I hope you guys are fine talking to someone drunk on pain, because I don't know how coherent I'm going to be."

"Okay, then how about you tell us about how you ended up in the South Pole?" Aang really is looking for anything he can talk about to keep me awake.

I nod. "Okay, South Pole it is. Now, let me see…I was traveling south, along the western coast of the Earth Kingdom. I had been skirting around the desert for a couple of weeks, on foot, of course, and I decided to head south for the winter. Now, since I'm a teenaged girl, I'm quite used to having men hit on me. Whenever I stopped by a town or village, I would draw attention, despite trying not to. But instead of running to typical annoying guys that I could lose from just a smack to the head, I ran right into Fire Nation soldiers. I really didn't want them to know that I was a firebender, since it's not really something that was safe for me to show off, plus, there's this little situation too. So, I got into a fist fight with them and tried to get away from them. Apparently, they were under the impression that I would provide them with…services…"

I feel a little extra heat on my back as Zuko twitches. "That explains a lot actually. And careful, another one is coming out." And just as he says, there is another painful tug, and the third spike slides out.

I take a deep breath and continue. "Zuko knows this next part. He confronted me on the shore. And by withholding my firebending, I was rather outmatched, well, overpowered. Of course, when I found out that he was royalty, I couldn't help but laugh at the irony. Caught by the people I was trying to avoid the most. Even more ironic, Zuko was in a similar position to me. In fact, there was so much irony that it would have made an excellent drama."

I laugh a little, which hurts my lungs. "Anyway, skipping over the less than interesting details of how Zuko tried and failed to interrogate me, I managed to fracture my restraints, get up onto the deck, and I jumped over the side of his ship. Stupid, I know, but I was desperate. I managed to swim pretty far before I climbed onto a floating piece of ice and passed out. And then, I would have frozen to death if Katara and Sokka hadn't found me. I guess Zuko got me close enough to the South Pole that the floating ice chunk was able to take me the rest of the way." My breath hitches as another spike comes out. "And that's how I ended up in the South Pole a couple of weeks before Katara and Sokka found you in the iceberg."

"Wow." Aang looks at me with amazement. "So that's how you ended up there. It always seemed a bit weird to me that you were at the South Pole. Especially since you seemed so much more familiar with the Earth Kingdom."

"Yeah, well I get around. Obviously Zuko's soldiers took that another way, which is how I ended up in the South Pole in the first place." I shake my head a little. "Men, such a pain in the butt. Don't you think so Toph?"

"Totally. Nothing but hard heads and harder stomachs."

I roll my eyes. "I don't think that you should be talking about anyone having a hard head, Toph. I remember that boulder that you shattered with just your head when you were teaching Aang."

"Hey! I was earthbending! That doesn't count!" She pulls out yet another spike, and the wrenching pain this time isn't quite as bad. That means that Toph and Zuko are getting the hang of working together, as well as how to pull the spikes out more effectively.

Katara reappears in my line of sight. "Okay, they're half done, and you haven't lost much blood. Just try to bear with the pain."

I nod and breathe, trying to keep it as controlled as possible so that I don't interrupt their work. "So Aang, got any more questions?"

His eyes dart around as he thinks. "Yeah, actually. How did you learn how to hunt?"

I blink, and then frown. "Well, I was forced to. I was only six years old, and living out in the wilderness was tough. At first, I nearly starved to death. Actually, starvation wasn't the only thing that nearly killed me, just the first. But I knew that I had to do something. So, I waited in the forest until a possum chicken flew over my head, and I shot it down with a little firebending. I plucked it, gutted it, and cooked it. That was my first time killing something. But I wasn't stupid; I knew that I had to do it to survive. I started from there, learning and memorizing different types of tracks, mastering the art of creeping around silently, which is actually really easy to do when you're a kid. And like most of my skills, I just kind of taught myself because I had to. Eventually, I got a knife and a bow, and I didn't need to bend to catch my food. I also got pretty good at camping out in the middle of nowhere, and providing food for myself became easy."

Aang looks impressed. "Well, the fact that you kill little animals aside, that's actually really cool. For a little kid to learn so many skills on their own, you must have been quite the little genius."

I nod, wincing when Toph pulls out another spike. "My dad always told me that I was a little genius. That's how I managed to learn all of my family's traditional firebending forms by the time I was five. But I think it's just because I put in a lot of effort, and I enjoyed it. I learn things quickly because I either enjoy it, or I have to. And I don't like wasting time. Dad would call it my fiery passion. I just say that I'm impatient and stubborn."

Aang cocks his head to the side. "But you never seem impatient and stubborn. You always listen patiently to everyone's side of an argument, and you always look for another way to do things if something isn't working."

I scoff and roll my eyes. "You've seen me holding back. I keep my emotions inside because if I don't, I get hot-headed way too fast. And I mean that literally. If I let my emotions run free, I would be even more prone to lashing out than Zuko."

"Really?" Zuko sounds unconvinced. "But you always seem so calm and in control."

"Years and years of self-discipline. Plus, anger is not my main source of power, it never was. Like I told Aang, it's passion, determination, pride, confidence, happiness, love, and the desire to protect the people I care about. That is what gives me my power, what fuels my fire. Combining all of that with years of discipline, and this is what you get." Lights start flashing in front of my eyes. Not a good sign.

Toph yanks out another spike and she pats my hand. "Only three more. We're almost done."

I breathe hard and my vision starts to blur. Aang notices this and grabs my hand. "Come on Ciara, focus. You have to stay awake just a bit longer. Once it's all done, Katara can tend to you and then you can rest."

Toph loosens the restraints on me a little. "Hey Zuko, why does she have to stay awake anyway?"

The heat increases just a little bit. "Because if she falls asleep like this, one of two things could happen. She could fall asleep and never wake up, which, according to my uncle, has happened before. Though I have no idea how he knows that. And the second reason is that if she falls asleep before we finish, she might end up choking on her own blood, since she's been coughing it up. If we had done this earlier, then we could have avoided that possibility."

Aang frowns angrily at me. "This is why you should have told us, Ciara! Keeping something like this to yourself was dangerous!"

My vision starts to blur again, then sharpens suddenly as Toph yanks out another spike. "I thought that I would have more time. I didn't expect the metal to migrate so quickly."

"You still should have said something!" Aang's expression is getting darker, filled with anger and pain. All because he feels like I didn't trust him. "Don't you trust us?"

I sigh and close my eyes. "I do trust you guys. But what could I have said? I'm dying from a ten year old curse of metal spikes in my back that I can't take out, and everyone who's tried to take theirs out has died? And it's all because of the guy we're trying to take down?" My eyes flash open and I look over at Aang. "It's not something that's easy to say."

Now Aang looks like he's going to cry. "You still could have said something, anything. Instead, it's like you were just waiting to die. What would you have done if you found out how much time you had left while the rest of us weren't looking? Would you just have gone and disappeared somewhere to die alone?"

I bite my lip and a tear leaks out of my left eye. "Yes. That was the plan. Either I would die in the middle or shortly after a battle, or I would disappear once my time was up. You seeing me cough up blood kind of put a wrench in that plan."

Toph yanks out one more spike, and this one hurts badly, so she must be angry with me. "You idiot, if you disappeared without a word, we would have gone looking for you!"

"I know." My voice is barely a whisper. "But I know ways to disappear that would stop every tracking method short of that bounty hunter's Shirshu. And I know a few that would stop even that nose."

"Well it doesn't matter, because you're staying with us. Got it?" Aang stares at me determinedly.

I nod. "Yeah, I got it. But someone else had better be working on food, because I don't think I'll be moving around for a few days." I groan loudly and sweat drips down my forehead, neck and chest.

"Don't worry; I'll have you back on your feet in a few days." Katara wets a cloth and dabs my face gently. "Just be sure to take it easy. And no firebending or twirling that spear of yours around, no martial arts, and no running."

I nod, and then I hear Zuko's voice speaking softly behind my head. "There is only one piece of metal left. It's in there the deepest, and it's right next to your heart. So you need to relax and breathe, and you need to stay as still as you can."

I nod and take a deep breath. Then I feel the metal dripping out of my back, slowly, agonizingly slowly. This one hurts worse than all the others, so I bite my lip to hold in my groans. I bite it so hard that it starts bleeding. I dig my nails deeper into my palms and squeeze my eyes tightly shut.

The last metal spike is wrenched free from my back with an explosion of pain. I scream high and loud until my voice fails me and my vision flickers with black and purple spots. My body is burning, and I feel like I'm going to die.

Then, I see a blue glow around me, and Katara's face above me. "Hold on Ciara! You're going to be okay!"

* * *

After a few minutes, my vision clears and I can see Katara healing me, Aang looking at me, a relieved expression on his face, and Zuko as well, though he still looks worried. He touches my shoulder and frowns painfully. "We need to turn her over. Any blood in her lungs needs to come out, and her back needs healing, bad."

Aang nods and he airbends a breeze around me, which lifts me up and lets them flip me over onto my stomach. I move my arms up and use them as a brace for my forehead as I look down through the hole and cough up what little fluid there is left in my lungs.

Then, I hear Katara gasp. "This is worse than I thought. Zuko, is her life still in danger at this point?"

"I don't know. I think so, since she's still bleeding, but all of the metal is out, so that's not what's going to kill her."

"Then I guess it's all up to me now. And her as well, because she needs the will to survive this."

Toph pats me on the back, and then draws circles on my shoulders. "I'd say that she has the will to live. I mean, she lived alone in the wilderness for almost ten years with metal spikes in her back that were slowly killing her. She could have just lay down and died, but she tried pretty hard to survive, she even taught herself how. I think that more than proves that she's tough enough to make it through this. And besides, she only screamed twice. If I were having that much metal being taken out of my body, I would probably be screaming the whole time."

"You know, I can hear every word you guys are saying…" I grumble irritably, pain throbbing in my back. "I'm not deaf, and I'm not unconscious. So don't talk like I'm not here."

"Sorry." Katara swirls water over my back. "Does this feel better?"

I groan. "Better, yes. Good, not yet. I feel like I've been trampled on by Appa."

Toph laughs. "Well, if she's feeling good enough to crack jokes, then there's no way she's gonna die. I say that we leave Katara to this and get something to eat."

The others leave Katara and me alone. And she rubs my back gently with her healing water. "This is going to take some time to heal, even with my powers. I can try healing you three or four times a day, but you have to be careful not to overexert yourself for the next few days."

I sigh and close my eyes. "Alright then. But I'm tired, so I think I'm going to go to sleep." Then I glance over to my right, at Zuko, who is still watching me with concern in his eyes. "Thank you, Zuko. You saved my life..." And I close my eyes, seeing a slight smile on his face.


	48. A Friendly Agni Kai

It's been three days and multiple healing sessions with Katara, but my strength has finally returned. And without the shadow of death constantly hovering over me, I feel lighter, happier, and safer than I have in a long time. And best of all, I have friends to share it with, and that makes the uncertain future a lot less scary.

We all sit around the fire, eating a breakfast of fruit, berries, nuts, and a couple of roasted birds that Sokka managed to catch. He's been on hunting duty, since I've been incapacitated. And the air is a lot less awkward now that Zuko has been properly accepted into our group. From what I can tell, helping to save my life earned him a lot of points with Toph and Katara. Only Katara is still being a little cold to him. And I see that as a huge improvement.

And thinking of Zuko reminds me that there's something I've wanted to say to him. So I turn my attention to him. "Hey Zuko, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about for a while. Actually, ever since I traveled to Ba Sing Se with you and your uncle."

He twitches at the mention of his uncle. "Yeah? What is it?"

"It's about your scar." And that little change of topic stuns Zuko into silence. So I continue. "While we were on the boat, Iroh told me how you got it. But what I found more interesting wasn't how you got it, but why you got it. What could a child possibly have done to merit that? And he told me."

Zuko shifts uncomfortably. "What's your point?"

I sigh and smile. "My point is that you treat your scar as a mark of shame and dishonor. And that's wrong. You may have been a child, but when you saw that injustice was being done, you ignored social niceties and called the generals out on it. Sure, you spoke out of turn, but that's nothing compared to what they were going to do. You stood up for what you believed in, and you weren't afraid to fight the one that you insulted with your impudence, even though the fool obviously deserved it."

Zuko's eyes widen, and then he bites his lip. "I suppose that you know what happened after that."

"Yes." I nod sadly. "Instead of fighting the general, you were forced to fight your father. But your love for him, and your loyalty to your family, as well as your desire to be loved and accepted by him, prevented you from fighting him. You just couldn't bring yourself to fight your own father. He called you a coward, called you weak, and destroyed your self-esteem and your pride." And now, I smile. "But he was wrong. You were brave to stand up and speak your mind. It was noble of you to defend those below your station, when other wouldn't care if they died. Your intentions were honorable, and your heart was true. You were punished for being a good person."

His gaze softens and I could swear that his cheeks are pink. "You're being generous; I didn't understand war back then."

"No, but you understood the value of life. And that's more than can be said for most generals." And here, my smile becomes warm and gentle. "Your scar is proof that you have a noble heart, a caring heart. Be proud of that, and don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise, because it's something to be admired." And now, my smile falls from my face, and my voice turns bitter. "I actually envy you for it."

Now, everyone is shocked, Zuko most of all. "You envy me? Because of my scar? Why?"

I sigh and don't bother hiding my bitterness. "You got your scar for being selfless and honorable. It's something that you can be proud of." I wrap my arms around my knees and start feeling a little cold. "My scars don't have such a nice story. No selfless act, no putting my pride on the line, nothing. I got them because I was born, because I exist. They're full of nothing but hatred, resentment, and bitter, bloody betrayal. There is nothing to be proud of, just a deep pit of darkness that I've been desperately trying not to fall into."

With my little speech to Zuko over, I push myself onto my feet and walk off towards the staircases that lead up to where the forest is. I've always felt at peace in nature, so it stands to reason that if I go and sit down in the forest, I should be able to calm down and organize my thoughts.

* * *

I climb quickly and steady myself on the cliff, before heading into the trees. Being with everyone is nice, but sometimes even I need to get away and have some time to myself to think. If I didn't, I would probably bottle everything up and let my temper explode and rage out of control. So I sit down and lean against a tree, then close my eyes and let my focus drift.

I succeed in clearing my mind, and as a result, my focus encompasses an area around me, twenty feet in every direction. It's not an ability, just a skill, the skill of listening carefully to your surroundings. And it's a skill that has saved my life more than once.

Surprisingly, a presence approaches. Judging by the stride, they're tall, and the weight on the twigs and leaves tells me that it's male. The fact that there is no murderous intent tells me that it's one of the boys. It's not Aang, and I doubt that it's Sokka, so there's only one person it could be.

I open my eyes and look over to my left to see that Zuko followed me. "Hello Zuko, are you here for meditation tips? I doubt that Aang's style would work well for you. Shutting down emotions isn't something you do very well."

He sits down across from me. "Any advice about that?"

I smile lightly. "I find that rather than shutting down my emotions, it's easier to just let them burn, fade and swirl around me freely. I have emotions, and there is nothing wrong with that. So I just find a quiet place where I can listen to the world and leave all of my own worries behind for a while."

He still looks a little on edge. "Anything else? I just feel kind of restless."

"Restless?" I look at him sympathetically. "Ah, I know what you mean. That burning anxiety when you're idle for too long. I have a remedy for that." I get up and turn towards the nearby valley. "This way, there's a lake that we can use for a counter-measure."

"A counter-measure?" He's confused, but he follows me anyway. "What exactly do you have in mind?"

I smile as I push through the trees to see the lake. "Simple. You're going to burn energy, literally. I know that you're probably pretty frustrated because you don't have a proper sparring partner. Katara's abilities aren't suited for a training spar with a firebender, Sokka isn't a bender, so you can only really train your swordsmanship with him, Toph doesn't like sparring and doesn't take it seriously, and Aang just doesn't want to hurt anyone, especially his friends. That leaves you with no one to test yourself against, no one to push against, to make you try harder, strive for perfection, and look higher. That is why you're so restless."

"I guess, but that still doesn't explain what we're doing here."

I smirk at him and point to the rock platform in the middle of the lake. "We're going to spar. You're going to fight me, a real firebender, not a novice like Aang."

Zuko's mouth drops open. "You're going to spar with me? But you just recovered from having those spikes taken out of you."

"Exactly, which means that I need to work myself back into my top physical condition. To do that, I need to spar. You're feeling restless, which means that you need some sparring sessions as well. So this works out for both of us." I ignore the pink tint of his face as I start stripping down to my training clothes. A tight shirt, shorts and nothing else. "Alright, now get yourself ready. You've got ten minutes to stretch and whatnot."

I turn away from him and start stretching. I quickly stretch out every muscle and join in my body, warming myself up for the spar. "Oh, and as for having just recovered, consider it a handicap to help you out. You don't want to see me at full power, trust me. Because if I ever get that desperate, it means that the situation is really bad."

"You think you can beat me while holding back?" Zuko sounds surprised at my confidence.

I turn to look at him and smile. "Probably. But then again, while I'm faster than you, you're stronger than me, physically, anyway. And apart from that, I'm not sure how our styles and firepower match up. This should be a good opportunity to find out."

I shake out my wrists, loosening them up so that I don't break them when we start hitting each other. And I watch as Zuko takes my advice and stretches a little, concentrating mostly on his shoulders, elbows and knees. It makes sense, considering his particular style of firebending.

"Are you sure about this? I don't want to accidentally hurt you."

It takes me a couple of seconds to realize that Zuko is addressing me with that statement, and it makes me burst out laughing. "Hurt me? You think that it's that easy to hurt me? You beat me last time because I was holding back in the spirit oasis. I didn't want to burn the place down. Plus, by that point, I'd helped Aang take down fifteen ships, seventy catapults, deflect three hundred fireballs into fifty mid-air collisions, a hundred deflections into the water, and twenty deflections into icebergs. So I wasn't exactly in peak condition. And, now I have nothing to hold me back out of fear, and I've also learned a fair bit on this journey. So equating now with then is a big mistake."

I walk through the water to the platform in the middle of the shallow lake. I climb up onto it and make all of the water on my clothes evaporate in an instant, sending steam billowing up around me. I hear Zuko splash through the water and climb up as well. But it takes him a minute to get all of the water out of his clothes, even by turning it all into steam.

By my calculations, we have about one hundred meters across for this circular platform. So it's not a small training ground. I just hope that it's big enough for what we're about to do. And Zuko seems a little apprehensive. "Are you sure about this?"

I spin around to look at him, and I slide my hands and feet into my combat-ready stance. "If you don't want to end up going for another swim, I suggest that you ready yourself. Because I won't be going so easy on you this time. I'm going to show you what happens when I get really excited."

He hesitantly takes up a combat stance. And since he seems reluctant to make the first move, I do. I bend my knees and spring towards him, catching him off guard with my speed as I nearly zoom right past him, except for my right palm, which I slam against his stomach. He goes flying from the impact, and I straighten up and smirk. "I told you to get ready. What was that?"

He pushes himself to his feet and grumbles. "You're faster than I thought, that's all."

I smirk at him and raise my fists. "Then why don't you try hitting back? You're plenty fast yourself, it should be a good challenge."

He frowns, then sighs. "Alright..." He raises his own hands, and the look in his eyes hardens a little. He's more focused, finally concentrating on me as an opponent. And after a brief moment of hesitation, he fires a moderately powerful blast of fire at me.

Seeing it coming, I swirl my hands in a circle, dissipating the blast of fire and taking a step back. I smirk. "Oh come on, I know you've got more power than that!" I slide my hand through the air, cloaking it in golden fire. "My turn." And the flames leave my hand in a powerful stream, shooting right towards him, and knocking him off his feet when he tries to block them.

He groans and gets back on his feet. "Fine, you want to play it that way?" He kicks a blast of fire at me, followed by a couple of blasts from his hands. I jump over the first, and I slice through the next two, only lightly heating up the tips of my fingers.

"Much better…" And Now, I feel like I can finally have some fun. I close the distance between us and punch right at his face, no fire required. He takes a step back, shifting the force of my punch away from his face. And as he moves to push me away, I duck down, put one hand on the ground, and whip my leg back, aiming to put him on the ground.

Now, he's fighting back. He jumps over my leg and grabs for my arm, and I let him grab it, because I'm moving it in that direction anyway. All he does is unwittingly speed up the punch that I drive into his stomach. He lets go of me quickly, and stumbles backwards, wincing.

I put my hands on my hips and shake my head. "Get serious, or you're going to be the only one who ends up with bruises."

The look in his eyes changes, and now, I know that he's completely serious. He comes at me, swinging his leg down on my head. But I shift just to the left, and block the strike with my right arm, grabbing onto his leg and holding him there while I sweep my leg under him again, this time bringing him to the ground.

But as I get up, he presses his hands into the ground and flips backwards, shooting fire blasts from his feet, forcing me to dodge and weave in between them as I return some fire of my own, in stream form, instead of a typical projectile. Then I jump into the air, landing on my hands, and twirling around, shooting fire from my feet in a circular fashion, both an offensive and defensive kind of move, which isn't typical for the very offense oriented element that is fire. Then I sweep my legs down, and aim a flood of fire at his feet, trying to knock him off balance as I leap back onto my feet.

He backs up, getting as much distance from me as he can. And from there, he starts launching dozens of fire blasts at me, trying to get one of them to connect. But our blasts meet in mid-air, and those that get past mine, I dodge or slice in half.

Frustration shows on his face, so I grin. "I told you so. I'm way better than you think I am."

And then, he makes a mistake. He charges at me, giving me the perfect opportunity to break his footing and hit him with a strong enough blast to throw him off the edge of the platform and into the nice, shallow lake.

I walk over to the other side of the platform as he drags himself out of the water and onto the grass on the other side of the water. Hands on hips, my smirk shines brightly. "So, feel like going for a second round? Or have you burned enough energy to not be so restless anymore?"

He looks at me, than drops his head back on the grass. "I give up…you win."

I laugh and jump into the air, landing easily on the grass next to him. I sit down, grinning. "That's what you get for underestimating me. Make sure that you don't do it again."

"Got it…" He lays a hand over his eyes, obscuring them from view. "And you didn't even use any lightning…I've got a long way to go." Then he grumbles. "I've really got to stop fighting masters…"

That surprises me a little. "Well, we all have a long way to go, we're still all a bunch of misfit kids. And I'm not a master, not yet. I've still got something to learn before I can even think about claiming that title." I lean back and sigh. "Only one skill left…and no one to teach me. It's going to be another adventure."

Zuko removes his hand from his eyes and looks at me. "And I suppose I'm going to be your punching bag until you figure it out?"

"That's the plan!" My cheerfulness seeps out of me, as I contemplate the one ability that I just don't have yet. "Why, is that a problem?"

"No…" He sits up, still fidgeting, which is really starting to get on my nerves. "You still didn't use any lightning. Why?"

That annoys me, since I figure that the answer should be obvious. "Of course I didn't use any lightning. If I had, you could have died. And I really don't want to do that, even by accident. Besides, you're a part of Team Avatar now, and I don't shoot lightning at teammates."

Now it's his turn to frown with annoyance. "I could have redirected it."

I huff impatiently. "And I wasn't going to risk hitting you on the off chance that you didn't." Then I smile slightly. "Besides, don't you have a girlfriend to get back to when all of this is over? She would never forgive me if I killed you by accident."

"Mai and I broke up." Zuko says it so coldly that even I feel surprised. "She sided with Azula, I joined you guys. I guess it was unavoidable."

The expression on his face makes me a little sad, but conflicted as well. So I opt for just speaking my mind. "Well, if that's all it took to break you up, and it doesn't get a more emotional reaction from you, then maybe it was just an infatuation or a crush. You seem more like the type who would be completely devastated if you lost your lover. So was your girlfriend really the one for you? Can you even know that for sure at your age? So many questions…"

"Mai…" He stops, fidgets, then stops that as well. "She and I were set up by my sister. I had a crush on her when I was a kid, but lately…"

"The spark fizzled out and you two just didn't connect anymore?" I glance at him, then look back at the sky.

But out of the corner of my eye, I see him looking at me strangely. "Yeah, that's right. Well…except for one thing. There was another reason it wasn't working."

"Oh?" That's a little bit of a surprise. "Another reason? What was that?"

"Because I didn't love her as much as I should have." His cheeks turn a little pick. "I fell in love with someone else."

Now that's a shock. But it makes more sense now. "Well, being in love with one woman while dating another does tend to spoil the relationship. So, what special lady caught your eye? She must be pretty unique to have attracted your attention."

"She is." Zuko takes a deep breath and his face darkens with blush. "It's strange, I met her less than a year ago, and she's already worked her way so deep into my heart that…" He shakes his head. "Anyway, it's been hard, because after the battle under the palace in Ba Sing Se, after what I did, I figured that I would never see her again, I'd never be able to have her. So I tried to forget her. I suppose that I should have tried that after the first duel we had at the North Pole, but somehow, we just kept finding each other again. I should have given up one of those times that she made a fool of me, which she did, repeatedly. But I couldn't…"

I raise an eyebrow, as this is sounding a little too familiar. "You do know that Katara is off-limits, right? Aang's got a thing for her, and there's Sokka to consider…he'd kill anyone who approached his sister."

Zuko smirks lightly, ignoring my warning. "The girl I've had my eye on for months…she's smart, brave, beautiful, kind, wise, compassionate, determined, noble, and fair. And best of all, she's passionate, and filled with energy. She shines like a light in the darkness, no matter how hurt or upset she is. She's responsible, but not overbearing, and she can make even the most stubborn people listen, by being even more stubborn herself. I figured out that I liked her while we were traveling together in the Earth Kingdom. It's been eating at me ever since."

Suddenly, this no longer sounds like Katara. It sounds like… "Me…?" I lean back, confused and astonished, and wondering if maybe I misinterpreted him. "Are you talking about me?"

His cheeks get a little less pink, and he swallows nervously. "Yeah, I am." He takes my hand and strokes it gently. "You're amazing, no matter how I look at you. And you're beautiful, inside and out. You accept people for who they are, and treat them fairly, no matter where they come from, or how dark their past is. You're a natural leader, and charismatic enough to make people like you easily." His blush deepens again. "I could keep listing amazing things about you, but we would be sitting here for a long time if I did that."

My face gets really hot, and my tongue feels like it's made of lead. "I…um…" My face gets even hotter and I pull my hand from his grip. "Sorry, I need a minute for my brain to start working again. You just…um…" The blush creeps to the edges of my face and I hide my face in my arms. "Damn it. Only Katara is supposed to be this incoherent…I feel like a silly school girl."

"Hey, are you okay?" Zuko tugs on my arm, and I lift my head to look at him. His face falls a little. "It's okay, I don't expect you to feel the same way…"

I look over at the water. "You don't know much about girls, do you?" Then, I get mad. "Zuko, one of these days, you're going to realize what an idiot you are. You need to pay more attention to people, learn how they react to different situation. If you do, then maybe, just maybe, you might be able to comprehend, with that tiny brain of yours, that if a girl's face is red, and she isn't trying to kill you after a confession like that, it means-"

But before I can finish my sentence, Zuko yanks me towards him and places his lips firmly on mine. My eyes widen in surprise, and I breathe in sharply. Then I relax, breathe out, and close my eyes. His arms tighten around me, and one of his hands tangles itself in my hair. Then, his tongue runs over my lips, and they open a little. He doesn't waste the chance, and he slips his tongue into my mouth, exploring thoroughly.

Quickly enough, I feel a little too dominated by his advances, and I'm not one to let that go. After all, I'm a competitive person by nature. So I push back, forcing him out and turning the tables, taking charge of the kiss and pushing firmly against him.

But he's like me, very competitive, and he's determined not to be outdone and subdued by me. He forcefully takes charge again, this time, pushing me down into the grass, where his hands clench around my wrists. His body, with it's strong, lean muscles, and dripping wet clothes, presses against mine, squishing me against the grass.

Finally, we need to take a break to breathe, so Zuko breaks the kiss and hovers above me, looking bewildered. "You didn't stop me."

I raise an eyebrow. "Did you want me to?"

"Well, no but-"

I roll my eyes and smirk. "Then just shut up and kiss me again."

His eyes widen, then narrow as they travel down from my eyes. He descends, pressing his lips back to mine, kissing me with fervor. But he moves, pressing a kiss to my cheek, then just below my ear, another under my jaw, down my neck, and all the way to my collarbone. He shifts the collar of my shirt, pulling it down a little so that he can kiss me-

"Oh, jeez, that is not something I wanted to see!"

The two of us snap our attention to the figure who just emerged from the trees. And the tattoos tip me off as much as the voice. "Aang…"

Zuko slides my shirt back up and glares irritably at Aang. "What are you doing here?"

Aang looks away pointedly and fidgets with his staff. "Well, I saw the explosion earlier, and I assumed that it was you two. So I came up here hoping to train a little. I had no idea that you two were up here doing…that."

My face starts to burn, and I push Zuko off of me and sit up. "We were sparring. But we're done now."

An awkward silence falls over us, and none of us try to make eye contact with the others. Aang coughs nervously. "Alright, I guess if you two are done…then could I practice with Zuko?"

"Do whatever you want. I'm going back to camp." I stand up and turn away from them. "You two have fun doing…whatever. I'm out of here."

I do my best not to storm away, but I'm so embarrassed, and I'm angry at Aang. _If he hadn't shown up…_ But a ways away from them, and well out of sight, I freeze. _Wait, if he hadn't shown up…what would we have…?_ My face flushes deep red as I contemplate the possibilities. And I conclude that it would have been better if Aang had shown up earlier, or not at all.

* * *

I march into camp, and Katara looks over at me. "Ciara? What happened? You look like you've been burned."

I blink at her, confused. "Burned? Where?"

She points up. "Your neck. There's red spots."

As it occurs to me what she's looking at, my blush returns, and I turn to my tent and dive inside. "I'm not burned!"

"But Ciara-"

"I'm fine! I don't want to talk about it!" I feel bad for yelling at her, but I'm so embarrassed right now, that I can't stand it. And I know that soon enough, she'll find out what really happened from that nosy little monk.

I turn over and shove my face into my pillow. _That brat…one of these days, I swear I'm gonna kill him…_ And strange little fantasies about torturing Aang dance around in my head. Embarrassed, vengeful thoughts that revolve around dropping him off Appa, and knocking him on the head with his own glider.


	49. The Southern Raiders

We're safe, we're healthy, and there's more than enough of us to watch each other's backs. That's something pretty new to us. Before, I was always up late, keeping watch, just to make sure that no one snuck up on us in the middle of the night. Now, I'm sleeping better than ever, snuggled up near the fire. I don't even mind that we've got a couple of adults around for once. It's weird, not being the oldest in the group anymore, but it still feels like we've got our family together. Despite having that Chit-Sang around, who none of us have ever even met before.

Hakoda and Chit-Sang tend to sleep over on one side of the fire, while Katara and Sokka have another side staked out with Aang and Toph. Appa and Momo snuggle up in a big furry pile behind them. Teo, The Duke and Haru are all snuggled up together, with a special setup for Teo, on account of his legs. I'm right next to Toph, and Zuko sleeps on the side of the fire over next to the pillars for the most part, despite my efforts to drag him a little closer to the rest of us. Suki, on the other hand, I've managed to drag over to my sleeping area, since I know that she might want to be closer to Sokka. All of us, arranged in one big circle around the fire, and me being the closest, since keeping the fire going is my job.

But it works, our setup works, and there are no fights over who gets to sleep where. And apart from the occasional instances of snoring, which is why Chit-Sang and Hakoda sleep away from the rest of us, no one has any problems with the arrangements. Except, of course, Katara, who still grumbles now and then over Zuko being here. Honestly, sometimes I wish she would just grow up and forgive him. The fact that she doesn't is what's causing just that little bit of tension in our group.

* * *

I wake up first, like usual. That whole rising with the sun thing is serious business. And also the reason why this past year has been rough for getting enough sleep. I stand up and stretch, raising my hands towards the sun. I give it a smile, as though it were a person, and I get ready to start my day.

Of course, I'm not the only one who rises with the sun. Chit-Sang may be a heavy sleeper, but Zuko sure isn't. He turns over in his sleep, fidgets a little, then opens his eyes. He blinks a few times, then pushes himself up and rubs the sleep from his eyes.

I smirk at him. "You're up early. Everyone else is still fast asleep."

"I could say the same for you." He sits up and frowns at me. "Shouldn't you still be sleeping? You wake up a lot at night to keep the fire going, don't you?"

I shrug. "Yeah, but it's called the Flame of the Rising Sun for a reason. No matter how tired I am, I tend to wake up at sunrise. Besides, you'll get used to my sleeping habits, everyone else has."

"I see…so they know." He looks strangely pensive for a moment. Then he looks back at me. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

I raise an eyebrow and smirk. "Sure, though I don't know how much I can answer, I've told you guys pretty much everything I know about everything already."

It takes him a few seconds to formulate his question. "Why did you keep it a secret from the others that you were going to die? I mean, they're the Avatar, a master waterbender, and a master earthbender who invented metalbending. Didn't it ever cross your mind that maybe they might have been able to do something?"

Now that question catches me off guard. "Ah…so that's it…" I think about it for a minute. "I guess because I'd accepted my fate as a child, and I didn't want them to know. I figured that it would hurt them more if they knew, and weren't able to do anything. And we haven't had time to waste on trying to figure out how to cure me. So I just left it alone, and planned to disappear when it was time. In and out of their lives…just like a ghost."

He frowns. "That doesn't really answer my question."

I flick my eyes to his, catching his bronze gaze. "No, I suppose it doesn't…" I sigh and look back at the sun. "I guess…the truth of it is that I've just been waiting to die. I lost my family so long ago, that I guess I was just waiting to die and join them. Sure, I made friends, but even with this new family, I still miss the one that I lost. And since death seemed inevitable, I stopped trying to survive, instead focusing on helping Aang in his mission, until my body gave out. I just…gave up on the idea of a future, because I believed that I didn't have one. And even if I did, it would just be more of the same, running, hiding and surviving. All alone."

"Why alone though?" Alright, now he's gotten past one question and into an interrogation. But though I shouldn't indulge him, I feel like he should know.

I glance at Aang, Katara, Sokka and Suki. "Because they would move on eventually. Assuming we won, and the world became peaceful again, I assume that Aang and Katara would finally get together and start building a life together. And there's something going on between Sokka and Suki, I just know it. Toph is going to find someone eventually, someone who can stand her abrasive personality, at least for a little while. They would all move on. But I never expected to have a future. There's no point in getting attached to someone if you're just going to die. That's cruel… I'd gotten too close to them as is."

"I see…" His face falls a little, before perking back up a little. "So…what about now? You've got your life back. What are you going to do with it?"

I frown, then it occurs to me what he's implying. He's thinking about that day we sparred. A smile curves my lips up at the corners and I resist the urge to laugh. "Well, I don't know. There's a whole world out there, I guess I could go and see the places I still haven't explored yet." A sobering thought brings me down from that happy high. "Of course, that's assuming that we win this war. If we lose, well…I probably won't survive if we lose. I'll be killed as a traitor, an enemy combatant, or just out of spite. Because now that I'm here, I'm not going to give up, even if it kills me."

"And if we win?" He gets to his feet, his voice sounding hopeful. "If we win, and we all survive this, what do you plan to do?"

My smirk returns. "I don't know, maybe roam around, have some fun, help people. Visit friends…" I smile mischievously at him. "Maybe spend some time with the people who are special to me."

He pouts a little. "Does that include me?"

I suppress a laugh. "Maybe. Should it?"

His face scrunches into an annoyed scowl. "You're teasing me."

"Yes, yes I am." I back up a little, grinning. "You're so easy to tease. That's why we all gang up on you to tease you. Your reactions are just so funny."

His good eye twitches, and he scowls. "The last thing I need is to be teased by you. The rest of them, they just poke fun at my firebending, or the fact that I'm Fire Nation. You, you go for the really personal stuff."

I back up a little more, laughing quietly. "Well someone has to. Besides, I take personal jabs at everyone, not just you. You're just more fun because you've got a hot little temper."

He closes the distance between us quickly, grabbing hold of my arms and pulling me back towards him. "Keep teasing me, and I'll show you just how hot a temper I've really got." But the words aren't malicious, they're a little frustrated, as well as a little playful.

But I can't let him have all the fun. His face is fight in front of mine, and I take full advantage of that, pressing a kiss to his lips and cutting off whatever he planned on saying next. His hands, rather than releasing me, squeeze harder as he kisses me back. He's warm, just like me, and has a much softer inside than he'd be willing to admit.

After a minute, I hear a rustling behind us, and I quickly pull away and turn my head to see Aang waking up. "Dammit Aang…why now?"

Zuko releases my arms and backs off. "Every time…I swear, it's like that kid has a sixth sense for you or something."

I laugh and twirl away. "Well, maybe he just doesn't want you doing anything naughty to me."

Zuko's eyes widen and he blushes. "But I wasn't-" But I just smile at him and wander back to the fire, where I go right back to taking care of it.

I glance over at Aang. "Good morning."

He yawns and stares at me. "Hey. You're in a good mood." He looks around, and notices that I'm not the only one up. "No way…what have you two been doing?"

I roll my eyes. "Talking, mostly. Don't worry, we stopped kissing as soon as you woke up."

"Ugh, Ciara…that is not a picture I need to imagine." He shakes his head and gets up. Then, he stiffens, sensing something. And I can feel it too. This is not good.

Aang twirls his staff through the air, airbending towards whatever is coming toward us, and knocking it away from our camp, setting off the bomb, and waking everyone up with the explosion. More bombs come flying towards us, so Aang airbends the metal doors around our camp shut, as three giant warships fly towards us.

The ceiling starts to crack, and Zuko sprints towards Katara. "Watch out!" He grabs her by the waist and rolls away with her, saving her from debris falling from the ceiling.

I turn to Aang. "Well, looks like we've been found. Now what?"

"We run!" He turns to Toph, and she heads to the back with Haru, earthbending us a back way out of here.

The two of them make a huge tunnel, big enough for even Appa to fit through. "Come on! We can get out through here!"

Aang struggles with Appa while everyone else starts running through the tunnel. And unfortunately, he notices that Zuko isn't headed to the tunnel. "What are you doing?"

"Go ahead! I'll hold them off!" He looks pretty determined to stay and fight. "I think this is a family visit." And with that, he runs off, off to fight what must be Azula in those warships.

I clench my fists. "That idiot!"

Sokka and Katara run over to Aang. "Come on! We've gotta get out of here!" He turns to me. "Ciara, you too!"

I hesitate. I really do. On the one hand, I should go with Aang and the others. But on the other hand, I really don't want to leave Zuko behind to fight his sister alone. I growl with frustration. "No! I'm not leaving! We can't just leave him here!" But when I rush outside, Zuko is nowhere to be see. "Damn it! Where is he?"

Aang keeps pulling on Appa, but it's no use. "I can't get him to go in there! Appa hate tunnels!" And as though to make things worse, the ceiling caves in, surrounding us all with a solid layer of rock.

"Aang, there's no way we can fly out of here." Katara tries to be the voice of reason, but she sounds too panicked to be convincing.

"We'll have to find a way!" Aang is desperate. We all need to leave, and we need to find Zuko.

Sokka comes up with a compromise. "We need to split up." He turns to Teo, The Duke, Haru, Chit-Sang and Hakoda. "Take the tunnel and get to the stolen airship."

But Katara won't have it. "No! The Fire Nation can't separate our family again!"

Hakoda pats her on the head. "It'll be okay. It's not forever."

So we split in half, Suki coming with us. Toph runs over to me and taps the collapsed wall of rock, which is mostly debris. "I can clear that away and we can fly out through there!"

"Um, there's an awful lot of fire in that general direction." Suki, understandably, is quite nervous.

But Aang nods. "We'll get through. Let's go"

Toph uses her earthbending to clear the way for us, before we all get in the saddle, and let her bend a shield of rock in front of Appa's face, letting it drop only once we've gotten past Azula and her fire blasts.

Looking back, my heart soars as I see that Zuko is standing on another airship, safe and sound. Angry, but alive. And very determined to take on his sister. The ships fire on us, but are blocked at every turn by my fireballs as we fly towards Zuko, ready to pick him up.

Their duel manages to hurl both siblings over the side of the warship. So Aang hurries Appa towards Zuko, and we swoop under him, Katara helping me to pull him into the saddle before we take off again. Zuko looks at his sister, a little ruefully. "She's…not gonna make it..."

But his sister is a resourceful one, and she blasts herself towards the Cliffside, digging into it and stopping her fatal fall into the canyon. And that figures, she does seem to be as tenacious as a cockroach. "Of course she did."

But there are still the three warships that concern me. I turn to Aang. "Hey, can you guys hover here for a while? I'm going to do something about those warships."

Aang's eyes widen. "Wait, but how?"

I grin and stand up, going right to the side of the saddle. "I'm going to use the power Dad left me. Duh!" and I jump over the side, letting myself freefall into the canyon.

As I fall through the air, I notice Aang following after me on his glider, obviously worried that I'm going to fall to my death. But he's definitely not prepared for this. Fire swirls around me, and it shoots out of my boots, and my hands. I shoot towards the warships at a blinding speed, the fire swirling back, shaped like a bird in flight, and I tear thin gashes in the hulls, and poke a few holes in the balloons. That should be more than enough to bring them down, but not too quickly. I don't want to kill anyone.

I shriek happily into the sky as I loop back up and spin through the air. Dad told me about being able to do this, but I've never really tried it before. I just believed that I could do it. I rise back up and spot Appa, as well as Aang gliding along beside me.

He looks at me like I'm crazy. "Are you nuts? What are you doing?"

I smile at him. "I'm just being me. And being me means that I can fly!" I soar upwards towards Appa, and I let the flames disappear just as I reach his tail, using my momentum to carry me right into the saddle. "Well, that was fun, now let's go!"

Everyone starts at me in disbelief, and Aang lands back on Appa's head. "Jeez, you could have warned us first. I nearly had a heart attack!"

I chuckle lightly, but Zuko isn't amused. "That was so stupid! You could have died!"

"But I wasn't going to. I can fly!" I lie back and look at the clouds. "I knew that I could do it, so I did it."

Suki looks at me, wonder on her face. "You looked like a bird. That was really cool."

I smile smugly. "Actually, it was hot, really hot. But thanks. Once I get the hang of it, I'll be able to fly right up into the clouds!"

"Yeah, yeah, but if you're going to practice, then do it where me and Appa can keep an eye on you. The last thing we need is you falling off a cliff, or down a canyon, or into the ocean." Aang's tone leaves very little room for disagreement. "Anyway, let's get out of here. We need to out as much distance between us and Azula as possible." And with some general agreement, we head off to our next destination.

* * *

We find a new place, further away from the Air Temple, to bunk down for the night. And between six tents, we have enough room for all seven of us. We've got a fire, and food, and we canal sit down together.

Aang, for once, is happy about all of this. "Wow, camping…it really seems like old times again, doesn't it?"

"If you really want it to feel like old times, I could, uh…chase you around a while and try to capture you." I stare at Zuko, realizing that he's actually gone and cracked a joke. And all of us burst out lauhing.

Katara, however, doesn't appreciate it. "Ha ha…"

Sokka holds up his cup of tea to toast Zuko. "To Zuko! Who knew after all those times he tried to snuff us out, today, he'd be our hero?"

"Hear, hear!" We all lift up our cups, except, for Katara. And Zuko gets an elbow nudge from Aang, and a friendly punch from Toph.

"I'm touched…" He smiles, but then it fades. "I don't deserve this."

Katara scoffs. "Yeah, no kidding." And she walks away in a huff.

"What's with her?' Sokka looks quizzically after his sister.

Zuko sighs. "I wish I knew." And the fool actually gets up to follow her. Doing that, he's just asking for trouble. And that gets Sokka confused. "What's with him?"

I stare sadly at Zuko as he walks away. "It's complicated…" Then I stand up and head to my tent, which I share with Suki. Since she's planning on sneaking into Sokka's tent tonight, I can go right ahead and go to sleep.

* * *

When I wake up, I notice that Suki isn't back, of course, and when I poke my head out, I see Zuko sitting in front of Katara's tent. "He's asking for trouble…just asking for it." And when Katara comes out of her tent, I try easedopping.

"You look terrible." Katara is once again the queen of callousness.

Zuko, as always, decides to be pretty blunt. "I waited out here all night."

"What do you want?" Katara brushes her hair, half-ignoring him.

"I know who killed your mother, and I'm going to help you find him." My eyes widen when I hear him say that. It's a good idea to bait her into listening with that, and I can see why he would use that as a way to make her like him. But it worries me, because this is going to bring all of Katara's anger to the surface, and that might poison her heart.

* * *

Later, while we're all sitting around doing nothing in particular, Katara walks up to Aang. "I need to borrow Appa."

"Why? Is it your turn to take a little field trip with Zuko?" Aang is making a joke on how Sokka went to a Fire Nation prison with Zuko, he went to the Sun Warrior ruins with Zuko, and Zuko followed me on a little training trip onto the cliffs away from the Air Temple.

"Yes, it is." And Katara does not sound particularly pleased. She's in no mood for jokes right now.

That surprises Aang. "Oh. What's going on?"

"We're going to find the man who took my mother from me." She sounds like she's on the warpath.

Sokka gets up as Zuko starts explaining. "Sokka told me the story of what happened. I know who sis it, and I know how to find him."

"Um…and what exactly do you think this will accomplish?" Aang is very hesitant about lending Appa out for a reason like this.

Katara shakes her head. "I knew you wouldn't understand."

"Wait, stop, I do understand. You're feeling unbelievable pain and rage. How do you think I felt when the sandbenders stole Appa? How do you think I felt about the Fire Nation when I found out what happened to my people?"

I glance at Aang. "Both times you lost complete and utter control of your feelings and went into the Avatar State. Thankfully, Katara can't do that." Aang looks back at me sourly.

"She needs this, Aang. This is about getting closure and justice." Zuko, predictably, defends Katara's intentions. He knows what it's like to be angry.

But Aang isn't convinced. "I don't think so. I think it's about getting revenge."

Katara snaps. "Fine, maybe it is! Maybe that's what I need! Maybe that's what he deserves!"

Aang brings up a very bad memory. "Katara, you sound like Jet."

"It's not the same! Jet attacked the innocent. This man, he's a monster."

"Katara, she was my mother too, but I think Aang might be right." Sokka tries to appeal to his sister, obviously not wanting to see her go down this path.

But she brushes him off. "Then you didn't love her the way I did!"

"Katara!"

Aang shakes his head. "The monks used to say that revenge is like a two-headed rat viper. While you watch your enemy go down, you're being poisoned yourself."

Zuko scoffs. "That's cute, but this isn't Air Temple preschool. It's the real world."

"Now that I know he's out there…now that I know we can find him. I feel like I have no choice."

"Katara, you do have a choice. Forgiveness." Aang tries to impress on her that revenge isn't always the answer. I agree, but I'm in no position to really judge.

Zuko doesn't like Aang's suggestion. "That's the same as doing nothing!"

"No, it's not. It's easy to do nothing, but it's hard to forgive."

Katara's eyes grow dark. "It's not just hard, it's impossible." And she walks away, angry and resentful.

* * *

Late in the evening, Zuko approaches me. I glance at him and shake my head. "You and Katara are going to go anyway, right?"

"Yeah." He frowns. "Are you going to stay here or come with us? We could use another hand on board."

I shake my head. "The last thing I should be doing is getting anywhere near Fire Nation officials. Besides, I don't have much interest in helping Katara track down some old captain. I'm on Aang's side of this argument."

He frowns at me. "You're on his side? But-"

"Would you rather I be angry at you for what your father did to me? For what your grandfather and great-grandfather did to my family?" My words contain more venom that I'd like, so I breathe and calm myself. "I know that it's not your fault, and that's why I don't blame you, or show you my anger. It's my burden to bear. Inflicting it on you just by association isn't right. That's why I'm with Aang on this. I won't stop you, but I'm staying here."

I hear him sigh, and walk away. It hurts to make him so upset. But I'm standing by my principles. I may not preach forgiveness like Aang, but I don't preach revenge like Zuko. I'll do what I think is right, nothing and no one can take that away from me. Not even my own darkness.

* * *

The two of them come back a day and a half later, and Aang goes out to meet them when they fly in. And later, Zuko comes back to find me, this time, much quieter than last time. "…hey."

I glance at him. "Hey. So how did it go?"

He fidgets. "Aang was right. Revenge wasn't what she needed. I think I get what you said earlier too."

That makes me smile a little. "Good." Then I smirk. "So, has she forgiven you yet?"

"Yeah. She hugged me."

That makes my eyes widen a little. "Wow, you must really have earned some points with her. To go straight from hate to hugs."

He sits behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. "Speaking of hugs…"

I chuckle and lean back. "Welcome back, Zuko."


	50. The Ember Island Players

I'm all for irony, I really am. But this has got to be the most ironic thing I've ever been a part of. I watch Zuko and Aang as they finish up their firebending practice, which isn't an unusual sight now. Aang has been spending pretty much all of his time with Zuko lately, and with me as well, since firebending is what he's much less experienced with.

And I'm not the only one who feels the irony. Katara does as well. "Doesn't it seem weird that we're hiding from the Fire Lord in his own house?" And her blunt way of putting it makes me want to slap my head in frustration.

Zuko sits down to deal with the sweat from their workout. "I told you, my father hasn't come here since our family was actually happy. And that was a long time ago. It's the last place anyone would think to look for us."

I roll my eyes. "It's still ironic…let us revel in that for a little while…" And my gaze wanders from Zuko to the mountain. I remember the map that Pakku gave to me, sent from Piandao. According to that map, my family's palace should be up that mountain. But I have no idea how much of it is still standing. Still, I want to find out.

Sokka and Suki come back later, and Sokka is holding a piece of paper "You guys are not gonna believe this! There's a play about us." Suki points to it eagerly. "We were just in town and we found this poster!"

Katara seems a bit skeptical. "What? How is that possible?"

"Listen to this." Sokka turns the poster around and starts reading from it. "The Boy in the Iceberg is a new production from acclaimed playwright Pu-on Tim, who scoured the globe, gathering information on the Avatar, from the icy South Pole to the heart of Ba Sing Se. His sources include singing nomads, pirates, prisoners of war, and a surprisingly knowledgeable merchant of cabbage." And I immediately think back to that poor cabbage merchant from Omashu, as well as seeing him again when we escaped from the pirates, and from a bunch of other places. It's like that guy was stalking us.

"Brought to you by the critically acclaimed Ember Island Players." And Suki must be pointing out the local acting troupe.

Zuko, seems displeased about that. "Ugh! My mother used to take us to see them. They butchered Love Amongst the Dragons every year!"

"Sokka, do you really think it's a good idea to attend a play about ourselves?" Katara points out the single biggest danger to us on this island. Being recognized.

But Sokka is undeterred. "Come on, a day at the theater? This is the kind of wacky, time-wasting nonsense I've been missing."

* * *

I've got a bad feeling about this. But we all go along with Sokka anyway. And we see at the back, trying to avoid having anyone recognize us. The last thing we need is to be having a fight in a theater in the middle of the Fire Nation. We try to avoid any fights over seating, but Aang looks like he really wants to sit next to Katara, which happens to be where Zuko is sitting. I sit next to Toph, since she's probably going to be more interesting than the play.

But she's not happy. "Why are we sitting in the nosebleed section? My feet can't see a thing from up here!"

I roll my eyes. "Don't worry, if they cover anything that we haven't already told you, I'll tell you about it. Judging by Zuko's reaction to them, they're probably going to butcher this story anyway."

"Whatever…"

The curtain rises, and already, I know that this is going to suck. The actress playing Katara is wearing too much make-up, and she looks like she's going to entertain some shady men, not go on an adventure. And right away, they start off with depression and food jokes, which Sokka takes some offense to. ""This is pathetic! My jokes are way funnier than this!"

But Toph just laughs. "I think he's got you pegged!"

The actress on stage gets started with a speech about hope, and it takes forever. Katara may talk about hope once in a while, but she's never this dramatic, or this long-winded. And she doesn't talk about keeping hope alive until we die, or beacons of hope. And she doesn't cry this much either.

Katara is already taking offense. "Well, that's just silly. I don't sound like that."

Toph just keeps laughing. "Oh man! This writer's a genius!"

We move on to the freeing of Aang from the iceberg, and I suppose that the effects are alright. But the dialogue could use work. I mean, I've never heard a water bender use "Hi-ya" as a battle cry. But what really puts this act over the edge is when the actor playing Aang appears. But it's not an actor, it's an actress.

And when the actress talks about coming to spread joy and fun, Aang catches on. "Wait! Is that a woman playing me?"

I shake my head. "Boy…am I glad that I haven't shown up…I don't want to know what they would do with me…"

"Just wait, you'll probably show up later." Toph seems to be looking forward to that. But this is the Fire Nation, and I have a feeling that a portrayal of me isn't going to show up.

The actress Katara goes off again about hope, and starts crying…again. They must really have gotten some bad information on the personalities of our group, because only the organization of events is going smoothly so far. And then, the actor Sokka starts crying too, providing the actress playing Aang with the perfect opportunity to pull a prank.

Aang is completely shocked, as well as offended. "I don't do that! That's not what I'm like! And I'm not a woman!" And I agree, Aang was never very much for pranks. Fun and games, yes, but not pranks."

"Oh, they nailed you Twinkletoes!" Toph just keeps laughing her head off.

Of course, when the actors for Zuko and Iroh appear, I almost choke on air. "Oh jeez, they really have butchered this play…"

Zuko isn't pleased either. "They make me look stiff and humorless."

Katara smirks. "Actually, I think that actor's pretty spot on."

"How could you say that?" Zuko is completely shocked at the insinuation. But, to be fair, at the time, he was rather stiff and humorless. And after the next line of dialogue, Katara smirks at Zuko again, who hangs his head in embarrassment.

Next, they go over our journey to the Southern Air Temple, and how Aang found Momo. And of course, they butcher Aang's character, again. Then, we go to Kiyoshi Island, and Omashu. We see the battle with the pirates. And of course, this whole time, my character is suspiciously omitted. Even when it comes for the Blue Spirit to rescue Aang.

Of course, when the actress portraying Aang gets a little too friendly with the Blue Spirit, Aang and Zuko give each other identical, uncomfortable looks. They're definitely not cool with this overly flirtatious portrayal of how that rescue went down.

Next we see Jet, whose hair is seriously out of control, and the actress Katara is crying, again. I swear, she spends more time crying than actually talking. And she's also overly seductive. This is a pretty bad mockery of all the crap we've gone through, trying to survive long enough to get to this point.

They skip right through the Great Divide, and on to the North Pole, which, of course, means that Sokka gets to revisit the time when he lost Yue. It's a pretty cruel blow. But when they show Aang in the Avatar State, that drives our poor little Avatar a little batty. They make him seem like a little kid, instead of the truly terrifying force that he becomes when he goes into that state.

* * *

Finally, we get to the long-awaited intermission. And most of us are pretty relieved to be out of that theater. Zuko is fuming the most. "So far, this intermission is the best part of the play."

Sokka comes to sit down with us. "Apparently, the playwright thinks I'm an idiot who tells bad jokes about meat all the time."

"Yeah, you tell bad jokes about plenty of other topics." Suki decides to poke some fun at Sokka, just because she knows she can get away with it.

Sokka stuffs a little food in his mouth. "I know!"

Aang, on the other hand, is thoroughly pissed off. "At least the Sokka actor kind of looks like you. That woman playing the Avatar doesn't resemble me at all!"

"I don't know, you are more in touch with your feminine side than most guys." Turns out it's Toph's turn to start poking fun. And Aang is just frustrated.

"Relax, Aang. They're not accurate portrayals. It's not like I'm a preachy crybaby who can't resist giving overemotional speeches about hope all the time." But when everyone else looks at Katara, she gets confused. "What?"

"Yeah, that's not you at all." Aang sits down, still fuming.

Toph justlaughs again. "Listen friends, it's obvious that the playwright did his research. I know it must hurt, but what you're seeing up there on that stage is the truth."

I shake my head a little. "No, it's a twisted perspective. Katara isn't that whiny, she doesn't get nearly that emotional, and she definitely doesn't dress like that. It's like that actress is trying to seduce all the guys in the audience. Sokka isn't nearly that stupid. And Aang, jeez, Aang isn't nearly so focused on pranks. Fun and games, sure, but he tended to draw the line at outright pranks. He's always been too innocent for that."

Aang turns on me. "It's easy for you to say all that, they didn't even put you in!"

My gaze darkens as he says that. "You're right, and there's probably a very good reason for it. Like Toph said, the playwright did his research, that's why the order of events is as accurate as it is. Which means, that if he found out who I am…there's no way he could have put me in there. He would have risked starting an uprising and getting himself killed. There's no way to know how many loyalists there are here…after all, this island is the location of my family's central palace. So there's bound to be some loyalists hanging around. Loyalists like Piandao…"

"Piandao?" Zuko stares at me, shocked. "You know Piandao?"

I glance at Sokka with a smile. "Yes, but not as well as Sokka. He's the one who trained under him. I'm just the one who got a present from the old man."

"Hey, guys, the play's starting again." Toph gets up and heads back inside. "Who's coming?"

* * *

We all exchange some nervous glances, before filing back inside to finish watching the play. And it kicks off in the Earth Kingdom with Toph's entrance. She's excited to see what kind of portrayal she's going to get. And it's not what any of us were expecting. Nor does it fit with the order of events, or what really happened. I guess it means that Earth Rumble Six is getting left out.

The actor who comes out to portray Toph is a huge, muscly guy, who spits and acts all tough. We all laugh our heads off. Except for Zuko, who just drops the poster in shock. And Toph sounds confused. "Wait a minute, I sound like a guy. A really buff guy."

Katara decides to give Toph a taste of her own medicine. "Well Toph, what you hear up there is the truth. It hurts, doesn't it?"

"Are you kidding me? I wouldn't have cast it any other way!" It backfires and Toph starts laughing. "At least I'm not a flying bald lady!"

The whole sonic wave part is complete bogus though. And it only gets worse when we get to the battle against Azula, where we all had her cornered. The firebending is so fake, and we get to see how bad the portrayal of Azula is. She's way more stuck up and arrogant than that. And she doesn't wear pink.

The drilling of Ba Sing Se is next, and everyone is starting to fall asleep. I barely even pay attention when they get to the Lake Laogai stuff. But when they kill off Jet, it's all a little weird. And Zuko turns to Sokka. "Did Jet just…die?"

"You know, it was really unclear." And I have to agree. I wasn't there, and I'm pretty sure from what Katara told me, that Jet died there.

And it all goes from bad to worse when we see the actress Katara hitting on the actor playing Zuko. I was there, I know what happened, and it really didn't happen like that at all. And the coming on to Zuko is so strong, that I actually feel just a little weird about it. Not jealous, just weird for watching this. Especially since I remember this part very differently. And Aang seems to take offense at the very thought that Katara would like Zuko instead. He's forgetting this this is a play, and not at all true, and he storms out of the theater.

And with the battle ensuing, worse, doesn't even begin to cut it. It shows Zuko's betrayal of his uncle, taking Azula's side, and insulting Iroh pretty bad. Katara whispers over to Zuko. "You didn't really say that, did you?"

"I might as well have." Zuko sounds really ashamed of himself now. I don't blame him, but he just made some really bad decisions because of his sister's goading. I doubt that Iroh will hold that against him. Iroh is the forgiving type.

* * *

After that, we see Azula taking down Aang while in the Avatar State, which they replicate with glowing make-up. And the curtain falls, ending the second act. And after that, we all head right back outside to get some air.

"It seems like every time there's a big battle, you guys barely make it out alive." Suki really points out the obvious there. Then she drives the knife even deeper. "I mean, you guys lose a lot."

Sokka counters. "You're one to talk, Suki. Didn't Azula take you captive? That's right, she did!"

"Are you trying to get on my bad side?" Suki's voice takes on a distinctly ominous tone, and I snicker, thinking that Sokka isn't going to get very far by taking on his girlfriend.

"I'm just saying."

"Does anyone know where Aang is?" Katara looks around for our little airbender, looking worried.

Sokka looks around. "He left to get me fire gummies, like, ten minutes ago. And I'm still waiting!"

"I'm gonna check outside." Katara runs off to look for him, not that I blame her. After that act, I would be worried about him too.

The rest of us head back inside, and Sokka starts talking to Suki about getting backstage, while Toph walks up to Zuko. "Geez, everyone's getting so upset about their characters. Even you seem more down than usual, and that's saying something!"

Zuko really is down. "You don't get it, it's different for you. You get a muscly version of yourself, taking down ten bad guys at once, and making sassy remarks."

"Yeah, that's pretty great!"

"But for me, it takes all the mistakes I've made in my life, and shoves them back in my face." Now, Zuko's guilt starts coming out. "My uncle, he's always been on my side, even when things were bad. He as there for me, he taught me so much, and how do I repay him? With a knife in his back." He bites the words, spitting them out venomously. "It's my greatest regret, and I may never get to redeem myself."

Toph sits down next to him. "You have redeemed yourself to your uncle. You don't realize it, but you already have."

"How do you know?"

"Because I once had a long conversation with the guy, and all he would talk about was you." Toph sounds like she had the time of her life talking to Iroh, even if it was annoying to only head about Zuko.

Zuko now sounds just a little more hopeful. "Really?"

"Yeah, and it was kind of annoying." Toph's blunt lack of tact knows no bounds.

"Oh, sorry." I doubt that Zuko even knows what he's apologizing for.

Then Toph changes her tune, and a smile crosses Zuko's face. "But it was also very sweet. All your uncle wanted was for you to find your own path, and see the light. Now you're here with us. He'd be proud." And she shows him her affection by punching him in the arm.

"Ow!" He rubs his arm a little. "What was that for?"

I laugh a little. "Don't worry, that's just how Toph shows affection. She does that with all of us."

A little boy whizzes down the hallway, stopping in front of us and looking at Zuko. "You Zuko costume's pretty good, but your scar's on the wrong side."

I cover my mouth to stifle a laugh as Zuko pulls up his hood. "The scar's not on the wrong side!"

I choke down my laugh and smile at Zuko. "Don't worry, I think it looks fine. Don't get too sensitive about it…these people don't know the truth." I turn to the theater and grin. "Let's go, it's time to finish this awful play."

* * *

The two of them get up and follow me back inside, where we sit down and the curtain rises again. They cover Aang's recovery, our trip into the Fire Nation, and the time when Katara pretended to be the Painted Lady, Sokka's sword, and the death of Combustion Man, all before Aang gets back. And next up is the invasion.

But those jokes get worse, and even our Sokka makes them funnier than this guy. We somehow pick up Zuko on the way, and leave the palace, and despite everything being caught up to the present, the play isn't over. And I have a feeling that, because this is the Fire Nation, it's going to end badly.

And it does…we get to the part about Sozin's comet, and a confrontation between Azula and Zuko, as well as the Fire Lord and Aang. First up is the duel between the siblings, ending with Zuko going up in a torrent of fire. And then, comes the duel between Aang and the Fire Lord, which ends with Aang being caught up in a big flow of what looks like lava. The ending is a Fire Nation victory. And the crowd goes wild, leaving all of us speechless.

Afterwards, all we have is a bunch of grumblings about how bad the play was. Because to be honest, that was the worst production I could ever have imagined. Especially since we're not going to lose.


	51. Palace of Flames

Since we're on Ember Island, and everyone is in a bad mood after the play we watched, I've got an idea that should cheer everyone up a little. And who knows, we might find something interesting on this little treasure hunt.

I go to the courtyard, where Zuko and Aang are cooling off after practice, and everyone else is sitting around relaxing. "Hey guys, does anyone feel like going on a treasure hunt?"

Toph is immediately interested. "A treasure hunt? What for?"

I laugh a little. "Something really cool, I promise. Well, assuming that it's still standing?"

"Uh, last I checked, there's no treasure here on Ember Island." Zuko puts his shirt back on after drying off, and walks over. "If there was, I probably would have heard about it as a kid. Besides, we don't have time to be going on treasure hunts."

"Yeah, we don't really have any time to play around." Surprisingly, Aang takes Zuko's side on this.

But I came prepared. "Oh well, I guess I'll get to keep all the master level firebending techniques for myself."

That gets their attention, and Aang looks curious now. "Wait, what are you talking about? What exactly is this treasure?"

I grin eagerly. "It's not so much a what, as a where…" I point up to the volcano. "I know approximately where it is, all I need is some help to find it, and maybe dig it out."

Now Sokka is moderately interested. "What, is it another hidden library? Because the last time we went in one of those, we nearly got buried alive."

I shake my head. "Not exactly. There is a library in there, but that's only part of the structure." I take a piece of paper from my sleeve, and roll it open to show them. "It's my family's palace. I want to get inside and find the archives. There's still something that I haven't learned yet, and I really want to figure out what it is."

They all looks surprised, to say the least, but Sokka nods. "Alright, I can see why you would want to go. And who knows, maybe we'll find something we can use against the Fire Lord."

I shrug. "No promises, but maybe. According to the stories my grandparents told me, the archives are enormous. And, they contain everything we ever learned about firebending."

Zuko frowns, then sighs. "Alright, this could be good. But I hope that you know where you're going. I doubt that anyone's touched that place in a hundred years."

A smile works its way back onto my face. "Oh, don't worry. It's up the volcano. We shouldn't have a hard time finding it. I just want to make sure that I can get in. I have no idea what could have happened to the outside in a century, so it's best to be prepared."

"Then let's go!" Toph jumps to her feet and grabs my arm. "I've never explored an ancient palace before, I wanna go feel what it's like!"

Instead of yanking my arm out of her grip, I close my fingers around her arm instead, and pull her along. "Alright!"

* * *

The two of us sprint out of the vacation house and head towards the mountain. And judging from the footsteps behind us, everyone else is going to be joining us on this little adventure. And Toph is almost as excited as I am. "So how big is this place supposed to be?"

I shrug, as much as I can while running along like this. "I'm not sure. But trust me, it's going to be pretty huge. Bigger than the vacation house, and bigger than your house. Supposedly, it held our entire family, as well as the court. This has always been a vacation island for the nobles, so court would be held here. We're looking for a pretty big building. So you'll probably find it before the rest of us!"

"Hey, slow down a little! You're going to make me trip!" Toph's panting alarms me, so I do slow down, right to a stop.

I turn to look at the poor girl that I've been dragging up a mountain, and I let go of her arm. "Sorry…I just got a little too excited." I look over her shoulder, down the hill, and see the others running to catch up. "Jeez, I really did move too quickly."

Aang catches up first, running like the wind. "Ciara…wait…up…we can't…keep up…"

I wince slightly. "Sorry, Aang. I just really want to find this place."

"I know." He leans over to catch his breath. "But…what if what you're looking for isn't there? It's been a hundred years…"

I entertain the idea of finding nothing but ash. And it's plenty likely. But, I'd prefer to air on the optimistic side. "I know, there might be nothing there, it might all have been burned to ash. But I'll never know if I don't try to find it. And there's always a chance that the palace might still be there. If it is, what we'll find inside is going to be incredible."

After a minute, everyone else catches up, and Sokka glares at me. "You know, you could have told us that we were going to have to walk this far. I wasn't planning on hiking up a mountain today."

I roll my eyes. "Well, I'm sorry that this trip is too long for your delicate constitution. Next time, I'll be sure to bring you a tent and some food."

"That would be nice."

I shake my head and point up the slope. "It's only another half mile or so, maybe less. We're getting pretty close. It's supposed to be on the east side of the volcano, facing the direction the sun rises from. Well, the entrance does, anyway."

"Then let's get moving again, the sooner we find this place, the better." Zuko leans against a tree, getting a little impatient. "We don't have a lot of time to spare."

I nod. "Then if everyone is done catching their breath, then let's get moving." I turn towards the east side of the volcano, with a hill lying between us and our destination. "Off to the palace…"

We alternate between walking and running the last half mile, and we make it to the top of the hill. I start looking around for anything that I could use as identification. And I soon find it. Hidden under the growth of the forest, are tiny remains of what looks like stonework. And not just any stonework, but stonework with red pillars, inlaid with gold. These are the ruins of a palace. "This is it! We're here!"

Aang looks around, far more upset than I am. "There's almost nothing left…this place got burned down a long time ago."

I stare at the ruins, a little confused by what I see. Sure, there are scorch marks everywhere, but something is wrong, it should be a lot bigger. And I'm not the only one who thinks so. Sokka looks at the pillars, then up to where the roof should be. "I thought this place would be bigger, and, you know, not so wrecked. The way you described it…made me think that it would be huge, like Wan Shi Tong's library. This place is just…tiny."

"Yeah…" I look around, walking further in. and then, I notice a discrepancy. "Wait a minute…" And I can see that the juncture of the rock and the wall is strange. "This isn't caved in…"

"What are you talking about? It looks pretty caved in to me." Zuko knocks on the rock. "It's probably been crushed."

But I've seen enough earthbending to know what this is. "Well well…this is a surprise. I'd heard that they'd employed people from other nations here, but I wasn't expecting earthbenders to be on the payroll." I knock hard on the rock, a grin spreading across my face. "Looks like this place got sealed up when Sozin attaked. His army only got to destroy the front porch." I turn to Toph. "Think you can give me a hand and open this place up? Gently…"

She cracks her knuckles, grinning. "No problem." She smacks her hands against the rock wall and looks surprised. "Wow, you weren't kidding. That place is huge! It extends right into the volcano, and it's built on solid rock pillars. I don't think they just employed earthbenders here, I think that they helped in the construction of this place. It's almost all intact!"

That's exactly what I was hoping to hear. "Alright, then let's open this place up."

Toph slams her palms to the rock walls, and cracks extend from where her hands touch the stone. With a few quick movements, the rocks crumble, and she shoots them out in all directions, throwing them off into the forest, clearing the way inside.

And just as I expected, behind those rocks are a huge set of doors, completely intact. "I knew it…I knew that they wouldn't go down without a fight."

Aang frowns. "Do you think there's stills someone here?"

I shake my head. "No. This place wasn't meant to hold off a siege. And if they'd closed themselves in here, that's what would have happened. Sozin's men probably killed all that they found in the front area, the ones who had come out to fight. The rest probably tried to escape into the air."

"Into the air? What are you talking about?"

I blink at Aang, feeling like I'm about to point out the obvious. "Into the air, as in, on dragons."

Everyone's jaws drop, Zuko's most prominently. "They had dragons here? How?"

I shrug. "I dunno, but according to the stories Grandpa heard, there were a dozen dragons here. That's how they traveled between the islands so quickly. It's probably also why Sozin decided to turn hunting dragons into a sport, he tried to wipe out our historic link with them, as well as our mode of transportation." Then I turn to the door. "Anyway, now it's time to open these doors."

Sokka, like usual, runs up to try and open the doors himself. "They won't budge!"

I try to stifle a laugh, but fail. "Of course they won't open like that…remember, everyone born into my family is a firebender. The way to open the doors is like this." I shove him out of the way and press my palms to the doors. "Come on…move…" Flames burst from my fingertips, spreading out over the doors, and dipping into the indents and holes. Gears start turning within the doors, and they start to creak open. "Yes!" I give them one good push, and they swing open with a deafening thud.

The inside is dark, but I walk inside, measuring my steps carefully. Beside me, Aang lights a fire in his palm. "It's so dark in here…how do you know where you're going?"

"I don't know…" I just follow my instincts another twenty feet, then stop. "Here…" I look down, and see a familiar pattern. "It's here. This is the great hall. This is where all of the hallways connect to. Now…how do I open them…?"

"Why don't you try dancing for them? Don't dragons like dances?" Katara makes a joke aimed at when Zuko and Aang learned the Dancing Dragon form.

But that gives me a great idea. "Good idea." I motion to Aang. "Hey, get everyone back, I need room to dance."

"Uh…I was just kidding."

"Well I'm not." I look at the symbol on the floor, as well as the grooves and indents. "Now I see…I see why he insisted that I learn that one so thoroughly…"

Aang backs away carefully. "Okay, I'm nervous. What exactly are you planning to do?"

I smile back at them, and I place one hand behind me, and one in front of me. "Like I said, I'm going to dance. That's the key to opening this place up. The locks are activated by firebending. And if I had to guess, I would say that they have to be hit in certain ways, and in a certain order. The symbol on the floor is a lily, it corresponds to one of the dances that my father taught me. A special firebending form."

Aang's eyes widen, and he backs up even further. "How far away should we be?"

I look carefully at him. "There should be good. Just try not to move around and get hit by stray fireballs. It's about to get very hot in here."

With them all getting safely out of range, I collect fire in my palms, and despite the darkness, I begin to dance. First, a swirl to the left, surrounding myself in a ring of fire that shoots down into the ground. Next, a spin to the right, this time, the fire shoots upwards into the ceiling. I hear some gears starting to turn, which is encouraging. I whirl my arms forward, bringing plumes of flame down from ceiling to floor. And that lights a series of torches, giving light to the room.

Now, I can see the many indents and crevices in the walls as well, which is just as well, because the most difficult part of the dance it still to come. Raising my left hand and letting loose three balls of fire, they slam into the far wall, revealing a huge golden statue of a phoenix and dragon twisting around each other. A swish of my right hand lights up the ceiling, lighting the torches of a chandelier.

Now, the difficult part. I jump into the air, spinning on an angle, and shooting fire out of my hands and feet, both in blasts and streams, until I touch the floor again. I repeat the motion, only in the opposite direction, before bending backwards and touching my hands to the floor, shooting fire into the grooves in the floor, as well as using that propulsion to spin myself around, creating a whirlwind of fire with my feet. I push off the ground and land back on my feet, ready to continue.

I start spinning on the balls of my feet, shooting blasts of fire in every direction, ducking down and around my own flames as they fly through the air. I have no fear, and I feel no anger or pain. I am one with fire, and it obeys my will.

With the dance nearly over, I breathe in deeply, wary of the two dragon statues with open maws on either side of me. But I know what to do. I stare into the hole in the floor right below me, opened by my earlier dance, and I roar. Flames pour from my mouth in a torrent, and they disappear into the hold, just before I get down on one knee, bow my head, and cross my right arm over my left.

Now, I see the purpose of the kneeling pose after the dance. The two dragon statues rumble a little, before the flames that I shot into the floor earlier come shooting out, enveloping me in a whirlwind of golden fire.

"Ciara!" That's Zuko's voice…

"Hey! She needs help!" Sokka…always in a panic when something goes weird.

Aang, do something!" Katara, the worrywart, she really needs to slow down and stop worrying about me.

I shake my head, my power pouring out of me, my fire protecting me. "No! I'm fine! The fire isn't touching me!"

And as the fire stars to die down, the fiery bird enveloping me spreads its wings and dissipates what remains of the fire, before burning out of existence. The fire is gone, the danger has passed, and the dance is over. So I get to my feet and look around. The gears turn loudly in the walls, and the sealed doors all around the hall start to open. And most impressively, the roof peels back, revealing a clear roof made of glass panels. Something that I've never seen before.

I look back to see them all looking amazed, Suki most of all. "What is this place?"

I smile, a little sadly. "This is my home. Or…what should have been my home." Then I look at all of the doors, my heart lightening a little. "Now…I have absolutely no idea where to go from here. There are doors, but I don't know what leads where…so I figure, maybe we should just split up and try all of them? And if you find something interesting, like a huge set of metal doors, or a door that you can't open, then just remember where it is, and we'll meet back here in say…half an hour?"

Aang shrugs. "Alright. We'll try not to break anything."

I roll my eyes. "Thank you. I would like as much of this place to remain intact as possible." And I pick a door, walking through it and into a wide corridor.

* * *

I walk down the hallway, and I find a lot of doors. I open them one by one, finding bedrooms, and lots of them. It must be true, then entire family lived here. There are enough rooms for dozens of people. And when I come to the end of the corridor, I finally find a room that speaks to me.

The inside of the room is beautiful, everything is red and white and gold, with wooden furniture, and a messy bed, as though someone was sleeping there. But it looks sad and empty, like whoever just slept there hasn't been here for a long time. It must be from the time that Sozin snuck up on this place in the middle of the night.

I find a closet, and I touch it gingerly, opening it a crack, before pulling it open and jumping back, half expecting an animal to come out of it. But there is no animal, just clothes. Very pretty clothing, that looks like it's only just been washed. There's no dust, no bugs, nothing. It's all in pristine condition.

Looking down at my travel-worn clothes, I contemplate the clothes in the closet. _Well, this is my house, technically. And I'm the only one left, so no one is going to miss these clothes._ And upon arriving at that conclusion, I reach into the closet, and pull out some of the clothes.

The shirt that I put on has long white sleeves, a golden bodice that exposes my midriff, and red satin that falls down in pleated ruffles in the back, kind of like a tall waterfall. The pants are red and loose, with a golden sash that falls down both the front and back, halfway past my knees, and decorated with white and red embroidery. The boots that go with the pants are slim and blend well against the pants, being both comfortable and fashionable. Though it's surprising that this is what they wore a hundred years ago. I hadn't expected them to be so fashion forward.

Then I remember that I'm supposed to be meeting the others soon. So I rummage around in the closet some more, and I find a box at the bottom. I open it, revealing a collection of golden jewelry. _Well, I suppose that I'm already wearing the clothes, so I might as well take some jewelry to match._ I lift a few of the pieces from the box, and fasten the two necklaces around my neck, and the golden wristbands to my arms. I take out my own tiara, and fasten it up into my hair, combing my fingers through the golden brown strands and letting half of it fall down around my shoulders. I look quickly at my reflection in one of the wristbands, and I barely recognize myself.

But now that I'm dressed better, I race out of the room and back down the corridor, hoping to make it back to the great hall on time. I shouldn't have spent so much time getting changed, the others will probably be wondering where I wandered off to.

* * *

I reach the door, breathing a little hard, but I take a moment to catch my breath before opening the door and walking back into the hall. Waiting there is Sokka, Suki, Katara and Toph. But before I can approach them, a door across the hall opens, revealing Aang and Zuko. Aang waves to the others. "Hey, we found the doors that she was talking about!" then he looks around. "Where's Ciara? Isn't she back yet?"

Toph turns her head towards me. "Yeah, she's here. She's just behind that door."

She points to my door, and I take a deep breath before opening it and striding into the room. "I found the living quarters…I must have opened up thirty doors…" Then I notice their stares. "What? Have I got something on my face?"

Sokka stares at me unblinkingly. "Who are you?"

His question catches me off-guard, to say the least. "What are you talking about? It's me. Toph did say that I was right behind the door." I point it out like it should be the most obvious thing in the world.

But now, they're all staring at me, and Aang squints at me. "Ciara…? Is that really you? You look…really different."

Finally, it occurs to me why they're all so confused. "Ah, it's the clothes isn't it? I found them in one of the rooms, so I figured that I'd change. I was pretty surprised at how well these fit me, so I pulled them out of the closet and…well…" I shrug. "If they look that bad, I can go look for something else."

Aang waves his hands. "No! that's not what I meant. I just meant that you look really different now, it's good. We've heard a bunch of times that you're a princess, but I guess now you really look like it."

"No kidding. She's almost as pretty as Yue!" And there Sokka goes, using the greatest taboo of all…comparing a woman to his old girlfriend, in front of his new girlfriend. And he gets no sympathy from me when Suki whacks him in the head.

I smirk at the poor idiot. "Thank you for the compliment, but I don't think you want to do that in front of Suki again. You might end up with some permanent damage." I walk over to the rest of them, noticing that Zuko has been silently staring. So, just to tease him, I give him a smile, which turns him scarlet, before turning to Aang. "Now, what was this about finding doors?"

Aang grins. "Follow me! There's a pair of huge metal doors downstairs!"

That excites me, and I follow Aang through the other door, which leads down a couple flights of stairs, into a large hall underneath the first one. And at the end of the hall, is a pair of enormous red, gold and bronze doors. "Now that's what we're looking for. That should be the way into the archives."

"Are you sure?" Katara seems a little nervous as she comes down the stairs to look at the doors. "That place looks a little big for archives…"

I approach the doors and shake my head. "No, it's just the right size. Now…how to open this one…" I look around, trying to find indents. "This one is different. The locking mechanism isn't the same as the other one." Then I find one indent. "Ah, here we go." I press my hand into the indent, and blow fire into it. The locking mechanism clanks as it moves, but after it stops, it starts moving again, right back into place. "Damn it, what did I do wrong?"

"Hm…I think it needs two people." Zuko looks at the door on the other side, and I can see him looking at an identical indent. One that's way too far away for me to reach.

I look back at the door, before returning my gaze to Zuko. "Feel like helping out here?"

"Sure." He presses his right hand to the door, mirroring my position with my left hand pressed against the warm metal.

"On three then." I look back at my door, concentrating. "One…two…three!" And simultaneous fire blasts erupt from our hands, making the locks clank together, and causing a deep rumbling sound. "I think that did it." I push on the door, and both of them move, opening to reveal a large room that is now well lit, from all of the sunlight streaming in through the clear roof. And what I see is amazing. Shelves fifty feet high, in hundreds of rows. Books, scrolls, artefacts, and what looks like a planetarium at the back.

"Awesome…" Aang walks in behind me and looks around. "This place looks like a small version of Wan Shi Tong's library! I wonder what we'll find in here…"

I raise my hand with a flourish. "Well, go ahead and explore. The firebending scrolls should be obvious enough. If you see dragons, that's probably your best bet for them. I've got something else to find…"

Aang heads straight down one of the rows, probably looking for the firebending scrolls. But I head for the section beyond the planetarium, where I can faintly see the outline of a phoenix statue. That should be where they've stored what I'm looking for.

While everyone else looks around, I search relentlessly through the special section of the archives. I'm looking for any mention of a special firebending skill, something that might seem impossible, or out of the ordinary. Something that my father never got the chance to teach me.

A couple of hours later, and after taking out a veritable mountain of scrolls, I find one with a golden seal on it. As soon as I touch it, I know that it's special. So I break the seal and unroll it, revealing a firebending scroll. But my frustration mounts as it looks just like any other firebending scroll. I already know normal firebending, and even some less than normal firebending, what I'm looking for is different.

But when I toss the scroll into the pile, it unravels onto the floor, revealing exactly what I'm looking for. _This is it! This is what he never got to teach me!_ The forms are different, and there are written instructions along the bottom. _This is…what? Light…lightbending? That can't be right._ But it occurs to me that metalbending is an offshoot of earthbending, and bloodbending is an offshoot of waterbending. So maybe it's not so unbelievable that there could be an alternate, more advanced form of firebending. Something other than just lightning.

I roll up the scroll and head back out through the archives, looking for the others. "Hey, are you guys still alive? Or did you topple some books over and die?"

No response, until Aang comes riding over on an air scooter. "Ciara! You won't believe it! We found a ton of firebending scrolls! Can we take them back to the vacation house with us?"

His enthusiasm startles me a little. "Uh, sure. I've got what I came for, so you guys can pick up whatever you want to bring with us. Just make sure that it's not too much for you to carry."

"Yes!" And he zooms right off again, no doubt to find Zuko and pick out as many scrolls as they can.

Now, it's time to train. It's time for me to learn the next step in my family's firebending traditions.


	52. Missing Aang

While Aang and Zuko try to figure out some of the scrolls that they brought from the archives, I spend the next few days trying to figure out the one I've got. From what I can tell, the steps go from firebending, to creating lightning, and finally, to removing the uncontrollable aspect of the lightning, as well as the danger of electrocution, and creating a force of light. Like firebending, but without the scorching heat.

It doesn't seem complicated at all, it's just hard. And the worst part of it is that I don't have anyone to teach me how to do this. The scroll says something about light being the heart of the technique. But the words are so archaic, that it's hard to figure out exactly what it means. I could be a riddle, or a pun, or maybe just a play on words. Frankly, I wouldn't put it past whoever wrote this scroll to have made up pure nonsense about it. But I've got to try.

"More ferocious! Imagine striking through your opponent's heart!" I jump at the sounds of Zuko's voice. And I look over to see him trying to coax Aang into more powerful firebending.

I glance at Aang, who releases the fire in his hands. "I'm trying."

But Zuko is getting impatient. "Now let me hear you roar like a tigerdillo!" Aang looks at him, then tries to roar, only to produce some pretty weak flames. And Zuko doesn't fail to notice that. "That sounded pathetic! I said roar!"

Finally, Aang gives a mighty roar, and huge bursts of flames come out of his fists and mouth. That impresses Zuko enough to get some acknowledgment. Though frankly, I know that I can roar better than both of them, so I really don't think that Zuko should be too hard on Aang for being so behind in his firebending training.

Katara comes out with watermelons in her hands. "Who wants a nice cool glass of watermelon juice?"

Aang abandons the idea of training and starts to run over. "Ooh, ooh! Me, me, me!"

"Hey!" Zuko grabs onto the back of Aang's robes. "Your lesson's not over yet! Get back here!"

"Come on, Zuko. Just take a break. What's the big deal?" Suki sits back, watching the ensuing chaos with Sokka.

Zuko gets mad, but lets go of Aang. "Fine! If you want to lounge around like a bunch of snail sloths all day, then go ahead!"

"Maybe Zuko's right. Sitting around the house has made us pretty lazy. But I know just the thing to change all that. "Sokka gets up, and strips off his clothes. "Beach party!"

And of course, everyone but Zuko is totally fine with going to hang out on the beach. Aang makes a sand sculpture of Appa, Toph makes a model of Ba Sing Se using sandbending. And Sokka makes a very bad sculpture of Suki.

Toph starts laughing hysterically. "Suki, we'll all understand if you break up with him over this."

"I think it's sweet." Suki looks at Sokka so nicely, that I have to wonder if maybe she's the most tolerant person in the entire world.

Aang looks at it carefully. "But it doesn't even look like-Aah!" A fireball comes out of nowhere, and out of instinct, I jump to my feet, swirling fire around me, prepared for a Fire Nation attack.

But instead of a Fire Nation attack, it's Zuko. _What the hell is he doing? Is he trying to get Aang killed? This isn't training time, so what the hell does he think he's trying to do?_ I back down on the fire, but with Zuko chasing Aang, I feel compelled to run after them to figure out what the hell is going on.

But the two of them are running, fast, and they get up onto the roof of the beach house. But they don't stay up there for long, and they take their fight inside the beach house. I roll my eyes with a groan, and wait for them out in the courtyard. Aang blasts Zuko out of the house as the others come running up. And since I'm the only one with any real brains in my head, as soon as everyone is within range, I circle us all with fire.

I'm seething. "Alright, that's enough! Both of you are going to stop fighting and calm down right now! Otherwise I promise, you two are going to wish that you'd never been born. Am I clear?" I look at Aang, who gulps nervously, and pulls back his staff. Then I glare at Zuko, who glares right back, letting out a very strained breath as he gets up.

Katara isn't pleased. "What's wrong with you? You could have hurt Aang!"

"What's wrong with me?" Zuko looks absolutely appalled. "What's wrong with all of you? How can you sit around having beach parties when Sozin's Comet is only three days away?" Then, ne notices the looks he's getting. "Why are you all looking at me like I'm crazy?"

Aang looks a little upset. "About Sozin's Comet…I was actually gonna wait to fight the Fire Lord until after it came."

"After?" And something about the shock in Zuko's voice makes me nervous. It sounds like he knows something that we don't. But now that everything has calmed down, I let my flames die down so that we can all talk properly.

Aang shakes his head. "I'm not ready. I need more time to master firebending."

"And frankly, your earthbending could still use some work too." Aang grimaces at Toph's criticism, but he takes it quietly.

Zuko, on the other hand, looks almost afraid. "So, you all knew Aang was going to wait?"

"Honestly, if Aang tries to fight the Fire Lord right now, he's going to lose." Sokka glances at Aang as he says this. "No offense."

Katara finally speaks up. "The whole point of fighting the Fire Lord before the comet was to stop the Fire Nation from winning the war, but they pretty much won the war when they took Ba Sing Se. Things can't get any worse."

Zuko looks away, very upset. "You're wrong. It's about to get worse than you can even imagine. The day before the eclipse, my father asked me to attend an important war meeting. It was what I dreamed about for so many years. My father had finally accepted me back." And then, he tells us that at Azula's suggestion, his father has decided to use the comet to raze the Earth Kingdom, and burn it all to the ground, the entire continent. "I wanted to speak out against this horrifying plan, but I'm ashamed to say I didn't. My whole life, I struggled to gain my father's love and acceptance, but once I had it, I realized I'd lost myself getting there. I'd forgotten who I was."

Katara sinks to the ground, horrified. "I can't believe this."

"I always knew the Fire Lord was a bad guy, but his plan is just pure evil." Sokka is putting that just a little mildly.

Aang is shocked and horrified. "What am I gonna do?"

Now, Zuko has some sympathy and understanding. But that doesn't change the fact that he has to deliver this hard truth to Aang. "I know you're scared, and I know you're not ready to save the world, but if you don't defeat the Fire Lord before the comet comes, there won't be a world to save anymore."

Aang is distraught to hear all of this. "Why didn't you tell me about your dad's crazy plan sooner?"

"I didn't think I had to. I assumed you were still going to fight him before the comet. No one told me you decided to wait." Zuko does make a good point in defense of himself. We did kind of neglect to tell him that Aang was planning to wait.

Aang sinks to the ground, holding his head. "This is bad. This is really, really bad."

But Katara is determined not to let Aang feel like it's hopeless. "Aang, you don't have to do this alone."

"Yeah, is we all fight the Fire Lord together, we got a shot at taking him down." Toph's optimism, as always, knows no bounds.

Sokka starts celebrating. "All right! Team Avatar is back! Air. Water. Earth. Fire. Fan and sword!" After referring to each of us, he holds up a leaf, pretending it's a sword.

Aang finally seems reassure. "Fighting the Fire Lord is going to be the hardest thing we've ever done together, but I wouldn't want to do it any other way."

I grin at Aang as everyone starts gathering for a group hug. "To be fair, we've gotten out of plenty of tough situations alive. What's one more? At least we'll have some kickass stories to tell everyone when this is all over!"

That gets a little laughter from around the circle, but Katara notices that we have one person missing. "Get over here, Zuko. Being part of the group also means being part of group hugs."

I make room for Zuko right next to me in the circle, and though he looks a little weird about joining a group hug, he walks over and joins the circle. I smirk at him playfully. "Welcome to your initiation, your first group hug." That gets me an eye roll from him, and we all break out laughing. It's good that we can still laugh. And we should laugh while we have the chance, because as soon as this circle breaks up, it's going to be right back to training. That is, after Appa flattens our group hug, and Aang coaxes him off of us.

* * *

Later in the day, we all get together at Sokka's request. And he gets up in front of us to propose his idea. "Gather round, Team Avatar. In order to take out the Fire Lord, or in this case, the Melon Lord, our timing has to be perfect." He gets down and draws the plan. "First, Suki and I will draw his fire. Then Katara and Zuko charge in with some liquidy hot offense, and while the Melon Lord is distracted, Aang swoops in…and bam! He delivers the final blow."

Toph points to herself. "Uh…what about me?"

Sokka glances at the two of us. "For now, you and Ciara can play the Melon Lord and his forces."

Toph gets excited. "So we get to chuck flaming rocks at all of you?"

"Whatever makes the training feel more realistic."

Toph likes that. "Sweetness."

I grin, feeling a little overexcited. "This is going to be so much fun."

So the two of us set up at the top of the hill with some oil covered boulders. And Toph breaks out a terrifyingly stupid laugh. "Mwah-ha-ha-ha!"

We launch flaming projectiles down the hill, some with rock, some without, trying to stop Sokka, Suki, Katara, Zuko and Aang, from getting up the hillside to us. I raise up walls of fire, and Toph makes soldiers out of rock. And our antics get so dangerous that Sokka starts yelling after Tioph nearly flattens him with a flaming boulder. "Watch it, Toph!"

But she's enjoying this way too much. "I am not Toph, I am Melon Lord!" And she starts doing that weird laughing again.

But at the end of the game, Aang has a perfect shot to take out the Melon Lord, and he stops. He pulls back his attack and backs away, much to Zuko's confusion. "What are you waiting for? Take him out!"

But Aang looks pained, and he shakes his head. "I can't."

Sokka walks up, now that we've stopped hurling flaming rocks everywhere. "What's wrong with you? If this was the real deal, you'd be shot full of lightning right now."

""I'm sorry, but it just didn't feel right. I didn't feel like myself." And I have a sneaking suspicion that I know where Aang is coming from. He's a monk, and from what I've heard of monks, they aren't fond of violence. And judging by what I know of Aang, and what I've learned about him in the last year, he's not fond of violence either.

But Sokka just takes out his sword and slices through Melon Lord's head. "There, that's how it's done."

I sigh, and shake my head. "That's enough simulation for today. Let's get back to the beach house. I've got a date with an ancient scroll."

* * *

A few hours later, after I've had ample time to get absolutely nowhere with learning what this scroll is trying to teach me, I join the others for some dinner. But Katara is determined to try and lighten the mood. "I have a surprise for everyone!"

"I knew it! You did have that secret thing with Haru!" Toph's guess weirds out the rest of us, especially seeing as I highly doubt that she would be this excited if she was carrying around some evidence from having a secret thing with Haru. That, and I think Aang would get really mad.

"Uh, no. I was looking for cooking pots in the attic, and I found this!" she unravels a scroll to reveal a picture of a dark-haired little baby. "Look at baby Zuko. Isn't he cute?" That gets a scowl from Zuko, and Katara laughs. "Oh, lighten up, I'm just teasing."

Everyone laughs, but Zuko takes one look and looks away. "That's not me. It's my father." And that darkens the mood immediately.

Suki takes another look at the picture. "But he looks so sweet and innocent."

"Well, that sweet little kid grew up to be a monster, and the worst father in the history of fathers." Zuko spits out the words like the venom of a cobra, not that I blame him. He must have had a pretty rough childhood.

Aang fiddles a little, still not making a lot of eye contact. "But he's still a human being."

"You're going to defend him?" Zuko isn't the only one appalled at Aang's apparent forgiveness of that man's existence.

But Aang rises to defend himself. "No, I agree with you. Fire Lord Ozai is a horrible person, and the world would probably be better off without him, but there's got to be another way."

I glance at Aang. "Well, he gets most of his power from the fact that he's a firebender. So if you take that away, then he's not a threat anymore. The only problem is that I can't think of a single way to take someone's bending away, apart from killing them. Even those metal spikes in my back didn't stop me from firebending, even though they were supposed to encourage me not to. You need a foolproof method. And I can't think of any that are both effective and humane…"

Aang perks up a little. "Oh, hey! Maybe we can make some big pots of glue, and then I can use gluebending to stick his arms and legs together so he can't bend anymore."

Zuko rolls his eyes. "Yeah, then you can show him his baby pictures, and all those happy memories will make him good again."

Aang gets excited, the poor boy. "Do you really think that would work?"

"No!"

Aang loses his excitement from earlier, and gets up, pacing worriedly. "This goes against everything I learned from the monks. I can't just go around wiping out people I don't like."

"Sure you can, you're the Avatar. If it's in the name of keeping balance, I'm pretty sure the universe will forgive you." Sokka's lack of tact is as strong as ever. Even I wince at his callousness.

And Aang loses his temper. "This isn't a joke, Sokka! None of you understand the position I'm in!"

Katara tries to calm him down. "Aang, we do understand. It's just…"

"Just what, Katara? What?" It's been a long time since he last blew up like this. And frankly, the angry look really doesn't suit him.

"We're trying to help!"

"Then, when you figure out a way for me to beat the Fire Lord without taking his life, I'd love to hear it!" He storms off, taking his anger somewhere else.

Katara moves to follow him. "Aang, don't walk away like this."

Zuko stops Katara, holding her back from following Aang. "Let him go. He needs time to sort it out by himself."

* * *

With that, the rest of us head to bed. It's going to be a long couple of days, full of stress and frayed nerves. And we're going to need all of the strength we can get. And that means an ample amount of rest. Because I remember what happened before the invasion, and I'm determined not to end up as crazy as Aang was.

In the morning, we're ready to get going again. And Sokka is in charge of packing. "Okay, that's everything."

But Toph shakes her head. "No, it's not. Where's Aang?" And what she points out has us all alarmed, and fast.

We run through the beach house, all of us splitting up to look for Aang. I open up door after door. "Aang? Where are you? Aang! It's time to go!" But I can't find him anywhere. It's so weird, it's like he just up and vanished.

I meet up with everyone else back in the porch. "I couldn't find him, it's like he's-" Then I notice the staff in Sokka's hands. "He's gone…? And without his glider? What's going on?"

Zuko frowns. "Aang's not in the house. Let's check the beach."

So we all head down to the beach to search for Aang. And Sokka finds the trail. "Look, there's his footprints." We follow them out to the water. "The trail ends here."

"So, he went for a midnight swim and never came back?" Somehow, I'd like to avoid shooting down Suki's theory, but I highly doubt that Aang would go for a midnight swim, and just leave. There has to be something else going on here.

Katara is getting worried. "Maybe he was captured."

Sokka looks back down at the footprints, then shakes his head. "I don't think so. There's no sign of a struggle."

"I bet he ran away again." I elbow Toph for her comment. "Hey, Aang's not going to just run away, not from something this important."

"Ciara's right. He left behind his glider and Appa." Sokka stands back up, and brushes the mud off his clothes.

But Toph is still skeptical. "Then what do you think happened to him, oh sleuth one?"

Sokka holds up his finger, like he does whenever he's about to tell us one of his wild theories. "It's pretty obvious. Aang mysteriously disappears before an important battle? He's definitely on a Spirit world journey."

Zuko pokes a hole in the theory immediately. "But if he was, wouldn't his body still be here?"

"Oh, yeah…" Sokka loses all his steam. "Forgot about that."

"Then he's got to be somewhere on Ember Island. Let's split up and look for him" Katara proposal is sound, and I also think it would be a good idea to split up and search.

Toph immediately latches on to Zuko. "I'm going with Zuko!" But when we stare at her, everyone going quiet, she gets defensive. "What? Everyone else went on a life-changing fieldtrip with Zuko. Now it's my turn."

I shrug, then look back out at the water. "Actually…there's something else bugging me. You guys can go ahead and search, but I'm going to stay here and look around a bit. I think that Sokka's idea about a Spirit World journey has merit. And if that's true, then Aang might have hidden himself before going off to the Spirit World. If that's the case, then there's a chance that he's still here somewhere. Remember, he's got airbending and waterbending. If he wanted to seemingly disappear into the ocean, he could probably do it. I'm a pretty good tracker, so I might be able to find something."

Sokka nods. "Then we'll leave the beach to you." And the rest of them run off to look through the rest of the island for Aang.

I walk up and down the beach, looking for any trace of footprints, or something that the ocean might not have washed away. I really do think that Aang is off on a Spirit World journey. Considering how anxious and uncertain he's been, I can only think that he's gone looking for help in his past lives, like what he did last time with Avatar Roku.

I spend hours looking for Aang, and I find nothing. Well, almost nothing. After wading a ways into the water, and swimming out. I go diving, wondering if maybe Aang made a bubble of air down at the bottom of the ocean. And I see something very interesting. It looks like a footprint, though only a faint impression, caused by the shifting of the sand on the ocean floor. But it's enormous. I've never seen any animal big enough to make a footprint that size. It would have to be the size of an island. I go back up to the surface, and I look out towards the horizon. Whatever made that footprint is long gone. And Aang might have gone with it.

* * *

As I wring out my swimming clothes and change back into my dry clothes, I see Appa heading in my direction, and everyone is in the saddle, and obviously ready to leave. "What's going on? Did Aang come back and I missed it?"

Zuko lands Appa right next to me. "No, but we're going to find someone who can find him. Get on."

This new initiative surprises me, but I run around behind Aappa, climb up his tail and hop into the saddle. "Alright, following Zuko's lead this time, interesting choice. Just don't fly us into any loops, and I'm good."

Zuko scoffs and I can almost see him roll his eyes through the back of his head. "Just hold on, we've got a long way to go."

Soon, we're up in the air again, and Sokka starts noticing what direction we're flying in. "Zuko, I don't wanna tell you how to do your job, but why are we heading towards the Earth Kingdom? There's no way Aang's there."

"Just trust me." And he angles us towards the northern tip of the Earth Kingdom. Obviously, he's got a plan in mind. And considering how badly he wants to find Aang, it's probably going to be a good one.

We touch down hours later in the Earth Kingdom, and Zuko leads us into a town. Katara, for one, is a little put off by our location. "And the reason you've brought us to a seedy Earth Kingdom tavern is what now?"

"June." He points over to a table, and I see that bounty hunter that he used to track us to that abbey when we met up with Bato.

"Oh yea, that weird bounty hunter with the giant mole." Sokka sounds pleased to see this woman again.

"Mole? Her skin is flawless." And Suki obviously has absolutely no idea what we're talking about.

Zuko offers an explanation. "The shirshu. It's the only animal that can track Aand's scent anywhere in the world. It's the one shot we have of finding him."

June causes a ruckus at the table when she flips a guy over, which makes Toph grin. "I don't know who this June lady is, but I like her."

I roll my eyes. "Of course you do, Toph…of course you do…"


	53. The White Lotus

Watching June take down some arrogant drunk guy is mildly satisfying. Litening to Sokka, is not. ""Hey, I remember her! She helped you attack us!"

"Yup. Back in the good old days." Zuko steps forward, walking towards June at the table.

Of course, as soon as she sees us, she looks mildly annoyed. "Oh great. It's Prince Pouty. Where's your creepy grandpa?"

Zuko obviously doesn't like the nickname, or the jibe at Iroh. "He's my uncle. And he's not here."

June flicks her eyes to Katara. "I see you worked things out with your girlfriend."

Katara and Zuko both get pretty angry. "I'm not his girlfriend!" "She's not my girlfriend!"

June leans away a little. "Okay, okay. Sheesh, I was only teasing." She flicks her eyes to me, and I roll my eyes and look away pointedly. "Obviously, that one's your girlfriend. Still too pretty for you, though." I flush deep red and hide my face with one hand as she turns back to Zuko. "So what do you want?"

"I need your help finding the Avatar."

She sips her tea and sounds bored. "Hm. Doesn't sound too fun."

Zuko's temper flares. "Does the end of the world sound like more fun?"

That seems to get her attention, and she leads us out of the tavern to her shirshu. "Nyla." She throws it a piece of meat and starts petting it. "Who's my little, hmm, Snuffly-Wuffly?" Nyla sticks its tongue out, nearly hitting June. "Whoa! Careful there." Then she turns to us. "Okay. So who's got something with the Avatar's scent on it?"

"I have Aang's staff." Katara removes the glider from the saddle and hands it to June, who then gives it to Nyla to smell.

The shirshu gets up, and starts sniffing around the area, trying to pick up the scent. It walks in circles, obviously confused, before lying down and covering its nose with its paws. That can't possibly be a good sign.

"Well, what does that mean?" Zuko is very confused, probably because his great idea isn't working.

"Means you friend's gone."

Toph nods. "We know he's gone. That's why we're trying to find him."

But June shakes her head. "No, I mean he's gone gone. He doesn't exist."

"What do you mean Aang doesn't exist?" Sokka is getting worried and nervous. "Do you mean he's…you know, dead?"

June continues to pet her shirshu, rather unconcerned with our predicament. "Nope. We could find him if he were dead. Wow, it's a real head-scratcher. See ya!" and she starts climbing onto her shirshu to ride off into the sunset.

But Zuko has something else up his sleeve. "Wait. I have another idea. There's only one other person in this world who can help us to face the Fire Lord. I'll be right back with a smell sample."

Zuko climbs up into the saddle and rummages around in his bag, pulling out a small package. And when he comes back down, Sokka holds his nose. "You saved your uncle's sweaty sandal? Ugh!"

Toph smiles brightly. "I think it's kind of sweet."

I would beg to disagree, but if this is going to lead us straight to Iroh, that can't possibly be a bad thing. So Zuko lets Nyla sniff it, and June gets on her pet, and rides it right off to follow the scent. Zuko panics. "Hey! Wait up!" and he ushers all of us into the saddle, taking the reins again as we follow the shirshu off to who knows where. We follow it all night and all day, taking turns sleeping.

And when we see the wall, we all recognize it. "We're going to Ba Sing Se?"

Nyla starts scratching at the wall, and June turns to us. "Your uncle's somewhere beyond the wall. Nyla's getting twitchy so he can't be too far. Good luck." And she rides away from the city, leaving us to stare at the walls.

Zuko lands Appa for the night. "It's been a long day. Let's camp and start our search again at dawn." And with a smattering of approval, we all set up for the night and get some sleep. With the comet so close, we're going to need it.

* * *

But in the middle of the night, I wake suddenly as fire surrounds us. I jump out of Appa's saddle and hit the ground hard. "Everyone wake up! We're being attacked!"

My flames burst forth, taking on the form of a bird, a phoenix, and with a wave of my hand, it circles the campsite, ripping through the flames and dissipating them, giving me a clear view of who it is that's decided to attack us. But what I see is not what I expected. Piandao, Jeung-Jeung, Pakku, and Bumi. All masters of their craft, and all friends we've made on our journey.

I look around at all of them, completely confused. "What…the hell is going on?" My flames wrap around me, as I'm still a little unsure of whether or not we're in danger.

Bumi grins at us. "Well, look who's here!"

Toph is confused as well. "What's going on? We're surrounded by old people."

"Not just any old people." Katara smiles and walks up to Pakku. "These are great masters and friends of ours." She bows to her waterbending master. "Pakku."

Pakku bows right back. "It is respectful to bow to an old master, but how about a hug for your new grandfather?"

Katara's eyes light right up. "That's so exciting!" And she wraps her arms as far as she can around Pakku. "You and Gran-Gran must be so happy to have found each other again!"

"I made her a new betrothal necklace and everything." And it sounds so romantic, despite the fact that it's a couple of old people.

Sokka is just as excited. "Welcome to the family, Gramp-Gramp." I shudder at the new nickname Sokka has for Pakku.

And Pakku is as cold to Sokka as ever. "You can still just call me Pakku."

"How about Grand-Pakku?" I cringe again at Sokka's naming sense. "No."

Zuko, on the other hand, comes face to face with Jeung-Jeung, and Katara introduces them ."And this was Aang's first firebending teacher." The old man bows respectfully to Zuko.

Sokka moves on from Pakku to Piandao, bowing as well. "Master Piandao."

"Hello, Sokka." The old sword-master bows back, with a hint of amusement on his face.

Finally, Sokka asks the question we're probably all wondering. "So wait. How do you all know each other?"

"All old people know each other. Don't you know that?" Bumi laughs and snorts like a crazy person. Well, I can see why Aang called him a mad genius, he's definitely still mad.

Piandao clarifies for us. "We're all part of the same ancient secret society. A group that transcends the divisions of the four nations."

"The Order of the White Lotus." Comprehension dawns on Zuko's face, now, it all makes sense.

"That's the one." Bumi laughs again, finding amusement somewhere in our confusion.

"The white Lotus has always been about philosophy and beauty and truth." Jeung-Jeung quickly becomes serious. "But about a month ago, a call went out that we were needed for something important."

"It came from a Grand Lotus: your uncle." Pakku addresses Zuko directly. "Iroh of the Fire Nation."

Toph gets straight to the point. "Well, that's who we're looking for."

"Then we'll take you to him." Piandao looks towards the city, then back at me. "But you have a burning question. Perhaps if you ask it, your spirit might be calmed."

I take a deep breath and look between the four of them. "Alright, so who found out about me first, how, and who told the others? I know that it was you guys, now I just need to know the connection _._ "

Pakku is the one who answers my question. "King Bumi sent me the message of your existence. He was also the one who notified Piandao, who then sent me the package for you."

I glance over at Bumi. "Alright, so then how did you find out? Was it at the dinner party?"

He shakes his head. "The Grand Lotus told me. He said to keep an eye out for a little lady with golden eyes to match her fire." He laughs again, snorting all the while.

But now, I'm annoyed. I glance at Zuko, gritting my teeth. "Don't take this the wrong way, but when we find your uncle, I'm probably going to do something stupid. He's the one who outed me, and made my life really difficult. So not letting that one go…"

But then, Bumi freaks out a little, pushing Piandao and Jeung-Jeung aside. "Wait! Someone's missing from your group." He walks over and looks at us. "Someone very important." And I'm disappointed when he doesn't say Aang. "Where's Momo?"

Sokka leans away from Bumi, who is right up in his face. "He's gone. And so is Aang."

Bumi leans back and pats Sokka on the chest. "Oh well. So long as they have each other, I'm sure we have nothing to worry about. Let's go!" And the old king jumps hard into the ground and catapults himself towards the walls with earthbending.

I shake my head. "This is going to be a long night…"

When we finally catch up to Bumi, Sokka gets down to business. "So Bumi…how did you end up escaping your imprisonment in Omashu?"

"Escape? I didn't escape. Everybody else escaped." That makes no sense, but we let him continue anyway. "There I was back in Omashu, waiting for just the right moment. I didn't know what or when, but I knew I'd know it when I knew it." And he tells us about how he threw all of the firebenders right out of they city.

Suki is impressed. "Wow! You took back your whole city all by yourself!"

Bumi nods happily. "So what about you guys? Did you do anything interesting on the day of the eclipse."

Immediately, all of us think back to the day of the invasion. Sokka and Zuko look at each other, then away. "Nah." "Not really." And I smirk at them. _Liars…such terrible liars…_

Once inside, we walk into a camp, and Bumi is happy to welcome us. "Well, here we are. Welcome to Old People Camp."

And with an entire camp here, I follow Piandao off, since he's got some answers that I want. At least, I hope he has the answers I want. And if he doesn't, then maybe Jeung-Jeung does. Either way, they're about my only hope here.

"Piandao…I have to ask you something."

He looks at me curiously. "Yes? What is it?"

I feel a little frustrated now. "I went to my family's palace on Ember Island. I found the scroll that refers to the special kind of firebending that my father never got to teach me. But I have no idea how to learn it. Do you know anything that I can use?"

He regards me carefully. "I know what you are referring to, but I cannot help you. I am not a firebender, and I do not know the secrets of what your father called lightbending."

That disappoints me, so I turn to Jeung-Jeung. "Do you know anything that could help me? The scroll said something about the heart of the technique being light, or something like that. Do you know what it means?"

His brow furrows, and he shakes his head. "I am sorry, young princess. I cannot help you either. All I know, is that Raikon once said that the light must come from inside you, not outside you."

"Damn it." I frown, not understanding what he means. "I guess I'll have to figure it out tomorrow…we don't have much time left."

"You will manage it, after all, you will soon have the comet to help you." Piandao smiles. "If anything can help you achieve mastery, it can."

It sounds hopeful, and it's something to consider. But first, I need a good night's sleep. I can get food in the morning, but first, I need some of that sleep I've been missing out on lately because of the pressure leading up to the arrival of the comet.

* * *

Sitting down in the morning to eat, however, is not the most pleasant of experiences, since the topic is the battle, and the future, which is looking a little grim right now. And Zuko has a proposition for his uncle. "Uncle, you're the only person other than the Avatar who can possibly defeat the Father Lord."

I snicker at his slip up, and Toph points it out. "You mean the Fire Lord."

"That's what I just said!"

But Iroh isn't so sure. "Hmmm…"

"We need you to come with us!"

"No, Zuko, it won't turn out well." I was expecting this. Iroh is considering the worst case scenario.

But Zuko doesn't get it. "You can beat him! And we'll be there to help."

"Even if I did defeat Ozai, and I don't know that I could, it would be the wrong way to end the war. History would see it as just more senseless violence, a brother killing a brother to grab power. The only way for this war to end peacefully is for the Avatar to defeat the Fire Lord." His logic is sound, but that's not the news that Zuko was hoping for.

But Zuko is still hopeful. "And then…then you would come and take your rightful place on the throne?"

"No." Iroh turns the notion down flat. "Someone new must take the throne. An idealist with a pure heart and unquestionable honor." He turns to Zuko. "It has to be you, Prince Zuko."

Zuko suddenly looks ashamed of himself. "Unquestionable honor? But I've made so many mistakes."

Iroh doesn't soften his first words much. "Yes, you have. You've struggles, you've suffered, but you have always followed your own path. You restored your own honor, and only you can restore the honor of the Fire Nation."

Zuko looks away, still looking uncertain and ashamed. "I'll try, Uncle."

Iroh takes another bite of his food, then smiles. "But I am not suggesting that you do it alone."

"What?" Zuko perks right back up, looking hopeful again. "Are you saying that you'll help me?"

Iroh shakes his head. "I am suggesting, that perhaps you ask for help in an appropriate place." He looks pointedly at me. "After all, you are not the only one with responsibilities to the Fire Nation."

My mouth twitches. "If you recall, Sozin kicked my family out of the Fire Nation a long time ago. I don't think that the people would be very happy to see me back. Piandao is an exception, seeing as he has some ancestors who served my house over a century ago. But I doubt that the rest would be so accepting, knowing that there could be a second contender for leadership. I care about the welfare of the people, but I doubt that they would welcome me back so eagerly. Going back to Ember Island could be a possibility, but I would probably spend more time flying around with Aang, anyway."

Toph huffs through her food. "Speaking of Aang, what if he doesn't come back?"

Iroh glances to the sky. "Sozin's comet is arriving, and our destinies are upon us. Aang will face the Fire Lord. When I was a boy, I had a vision that I would one say take Ba Sing Se. Only now do I see that my destiny is to take it back from the Fire Nation, so the Earth Kingdom can be free again."

Suki gets it now. "That's why you gathered the members of the White Lotus."

"Yes." Iroh turns to Zuko. "Zuko, you must return to the Fire Nation, so that when the Fire Lord falls, you can assume the throne and restore peace and order. But Azula will be there, waiting for you."

"I can handle Azula." And though he says that, I wonder if Zuko really can handle Azula. She's hardly going to be an easy opponent.

Iroh protests. "Not alone! You'll need help."

"You're right." Zuko looks to Katara first, then me. "Katara, Ciara, how would you two like to help me put Azula in her place."

Katara smiles. "It would be my pleasure."

I laugh eagerly. "Well, that's something I can get behind. I still owe her a rematch for that fight under Ba Sing Se. We never really got to finish that fight. At least, not to my satisfaction."

"What about us?" Sokka point to himself, Toph and Suki. "What is our destiny today?"

"What do you think it is?" Iroh looks at him with a wondering expression.

Sokka thinks for a minute. "I think that, even though we don't know where Aang is, we need to do everything we can to stop the airship fleet."

Toph likes that idea. "and that means when Aang does face the Fire Lord, we'll be right there if he needs us."

* * *

And with our destinies set in motion, we all get ready to leave. And Iroh comes to see us off as Katara and I climb onto Appa, with Zuko. And he looks back down at his uncle. "So if I'm going to be Fire Lord after the war is over, what are you going to do?"

And the response is so Iroh. "After I re-conquer Ba Sing Se, I'm going to re-conquer my tea shop, and I'm going to play Pai Sho every day."

Katara smiles. "Goodbye, General Iroh."

I remember that this guy is the whole reason for my identity issues. "When we get back, you had better have a whole mountain of fruit tarts for me. Because I know that you're the one who ratted me out to those other old guys. I could have stayed incognito longer if you hadn't gone and blabbed."

The old man laughs. "Very well, and I will have some raspberry tea waiting as well." He breathes and smiles. "Goodbye, everyone. Today, destiny is our friend. I know it."

But as we take off into the air and head towards the Fire Nation, Zuko is getting anxious, and Katara is worried about him. "Zuko, don't worry. We can take Azula."

"It's not her I'm worried about. I'm worried about Aang. What if he doesn't have the guts to take out my father?" This sounds like a prophecy of doom. "What if he loses?"

But Katara has faith and confidence. "Aang won't lose. He's gonna come back. He has to."

I smirk a little. "And when he does, we'll have taken down Azula. Don't worry, there's nothing we can do about Aang, so let's focus on what we can do. And for now, that's pulling the rug out from under your brat of a sister."

Zuko smiles a little. "Yeah, that's one way to put it…"


	54. Sozin's Comet

As the comet shows up in the sky, we fly Appa straight into the heart of the Fire Nation, faster than we've ever flown before. This is a race against time, and who knows what kind of chaos Azula is going to cause by the time we get there. Knowing her, I wouldn't be surprised to see the city in flames. But rather than flames, what we see when we get there is a progressing coronation. Instead of burning the city to the ground, she's being crowned Fire Lord. And that's something that we just can't have.

And from a distance, we can hear the proclamation of one of the sages from the temple. "By decree of Phoenix King Ozai, I now crown you Fire Lord…"

I glare angrily at the sage. "Did he just say Phoenix King? That bastard…taking that title…that was supposed to be my father's title…"

Katara touches my arm. "It's okay, Aang is going to take him down, and he won't be wearing that title anymore."

I breathe and do my best to calm myself, "You're right. Now let's land and take care of this."

Zuko nods and lands Appa in the plaza, and stands up on Appa's head to address his sister. "Sorry, but you're not going to become Fire Lord today." He jumps down, staring down his sister. "I am."

Azula laughs comically. "You're hilarious."

"And you're going down." Katara jumps down to stand by Zuko, and I slip down Appa's head as well, crossing my arms as I scrutinize this princess.

But instead of finishing the coronation, Azula stops the fire sage and gets to her feet. "Wait. You want to be Fire lord? Let's settle this. Just you and me, brother. The showdown that was always meant to be. Agni Kai."

"You're on." Zuko has no hesitation, and I can see why.

Katara, on the other hand, doesn't. "What are you doing? She's playing you. She knows she can't take us all, so she's trying to separate us."

"I know. But I can take her this time."

Katara starts getting worked up. "But even you admitted to your uncle that you would need help facing Azula."

'There's something off about her, I can't explain it, but she's slipping. And this way, no one else has to get hurt." And Zuko makes a great point. Azula does seem off. Her hair is a mess, cut all haphazardly in the front, she has bags under her eyes, and she seems manic, even paranoid. And reckless, she is most definitely being reckless.

* * *

The duel is moved to the plaza, and everyone is cleared from the area. Though some curious citizens peek out from windows and from alleys to watch what is no doubt going to be quite a spectacle, put on by their prince and princess.

Azula sneers at her brother. "I'm sorry it has to end this way, brother."

"No you're not." Zuko calls out the shit immediately, and I take that chance to pull Katara away from the two of them. If she gets in the middle of an Agni Kai, no amount of magic healing water is going to save her from those burns.

The two of them start to duel, Azula's blue flames being fended off by Zuko. They're both much more powerful than usual, thanks to the comet. And I can feel its effects myself, like there is a huge fire inside me, writhing and burning and consuming me. But it feels amazing, like when I make lightning. It's powerful, pure, and a feeling that I've never experienced before.

But Zuko's strong start soon beings to weaken under his sister's relentless assault. The flames shoot past each other, colliding over and over. He refuses to give up, and I refuse to interfere, on account of his pride, but the situation isn't so dire yet. A powerful blast erupts from Zuko's fist, bathing the plaza behind Azula in flames.

Zuko is putting his training with Aang to good use, his fluid movements are stronger and faster than ever. But even so, he feels the need to taunt his sister. "No lightning today? What's the matter? Afraid I'll redirect it?" He sinks into the waterbending stance used to redirect lightning, challenging her to throw him some ammunition.

And she takes the bait. "Oh, I'll show you lightning!" But instead of making Zuko her target, she aims it at Katara.

There, it feels like everything is going slowly. As though somehow, I'm seeing and moving faster than everything else, I'm working a mile a minute. I don't know if it's the comet, or just me, but I can see the lightning shooting towards Katara, and Zuko running over towards us to stop the lightning. But that much lightning, especially in its uncontrolled state, will kill Zuko. He has no time to redirect it, and I know that if he takes the full blast, it's going to kill him.

The twisting streams of lightning are moving quickly, too quickly for Zuko to block properly. I know what's going to happen before it does. And in that split second, I lose any and all hesitation. As though I take twenty steps in an instant, I pull Zuko away from the lightning just as the first streams make contact, trying to save him from as much of it as possible. And right when the rest of the lightning should hit something, meaning one of us, I hold up my hand, and a huge burst of light erupts from it, shooting the lightning into the sky.

Zuko falls on the ground, twitching from the lightning, and Katara runs over in a panic. "Zuko! Ciara!"

Azula runs towards us, clearly crazed. So I look back at Katara. "You take care of Zuko! I'll finish Azula!"

Katara nods, pulling Zuko away from me, and away from his crazed sister. "Aw…I'd really rather our family physician look after little Zuzu, if you don't mind." She taunts us, as well as Zuko. "Zuzu, you don't look so good!"

I glare at her, and as she charge me, I dip into that feeling again, the one from when I blocked the lightning. "Never underestimate me, you selfish bitch!" I slam my palm into her stomach and send her flying with all of the force, and none of the heat of firebending.

I pant a little, trying to catch my breath. _So that's it…that's what the scroll meant by light being the heart of the style. The light comes from within me, not from the outside._ I've been too angry, and too resentful this whole time. To do this, I had to let go, and focus only on what I wanted to save. Focus on the light, and not the darkness. Focus on the love. Friends, family, that's what is going to give me the power to see this through. And right now, I have two very special people to protect from Azula.

She gets right back up, glaring at me, but also confused. "What the hell was that? You're not human!"

Light envelops me as I breathe, and I look at her merely with contempt. "A special kind of firebending that my family taught me. Bending the light, and not just the fire." Then I smile angrily at her. "But I've already given you a taste of that. Now, I'll show you what the comet does for me."

With every breath I take, the light around me turns to flames, growing bigger and brighter, forming an enormous phoenix that hangs over the entire plaza, many times bigger than any I've ever made before. This amount of power makes me feel so alive, but it's also terrifying. I have to keep perfect control of it, otherwise the entire city could be burned to a crisp, just like what Ozai is trying to do to the Earth Kingdom.

Azula shoots lightning at me, but it's no use. Every bolt that she shoots at me either misses, or has all of its energy sucked up by the phoenix circling above us. "It's no use, Azula. Thanks to the comet, not even lightning can touch me now!" Though, of course, it helps that she's clearly not in her right mind. If she were, I might actually be needing to dodge a few of those lightning bolts.

I raise my hands to the sky, and I start to dance. It's the dance that was depicted in the scroll. I've nowhere near mastered it yet, but this will have to do. I spins, slowly enough to keep an eye on everything, but quickly enough that the flames follow my movements and swirl around me. It calms my heart, and allows me to focus. And the flames respond to that focus, turning themselves back into light. A giant bird of pure light flies over our heads, following my movements like a puppet, chasing Azula down from the rooftops. And finally, I charge at Azula, determined to finish this fight once and for all.

Azula shoots fire and lightning at me, but less lightning now and more fire, probably because she's losing control of her emotions, and can no longer produce it. I cut through all of the fire, and I get right in her face, tripping her up, and slamming her to the ground. I growl at her, anger coloring my power, and turning the light back into fire. "Hurt the people I love again, and you'll wish you'd fallen down the canyon at the Western Air Temple." Then I turn to Katara. "Hey! Toss me that chain over there!"

Katara looks around as I drag a kicking and screaming Azula over to the grates over the waterways. Katara brings me the chain, and I see Zuko sitting up, looking a lot better after Katara tended to the injury on his chest. She looks down at Azula uncertainly. "Are you sure that this is going to be enough to hold her?"

I nod. "Yeah. She's no harm to anyone now. She's wasted most of her energy. And if she tries anything, well…I haven't actually started shooting lightning yet, so I can scare her if I have to." I twist Azula's arms behind her back and chain her hands together, before fastening the other end of the chain securely to the grate. "There, now we won't have to deal with you for a little while."

But she's not happy, and while trying to free herself, she roars, rather weakly, spitting fire everywhere. I step back, keeping Katara behind me, just in case Azula's flames manage to gain a little extra distance. But she soon falls over, quieting down a little as she starts to cry. But I have no sympathy for her, she brought all of this on herself, quite willingly, since she challenged Zuko to an Agni Kai, cheated, and then thought that she could best me. Though I don't know if I could have done it without that desperate moment where I managed a perfect form of bending light. It's probably going to take me months, maybe years, before I can bend light like that again.

* * *

Now that Azula has been subdued, the only thing left to do is wait for Aang to finish off Ozai, which he should be doing right about now. "It's all up to Aang now."

Katara smiles. "Yeah, we've won here, and now, all Aang has to do is win his fight."

I turn to Zuko, a little worried. "Are you doing alright? You got hit with some of that lightning."

He winces a little as he touches his chest, lightly marked with a red burn. "I think I'll be okay. I didn't take much of the blast..." Then he looks up at me. "How did you do that?"

I look down at me hand, then shrug. "If I figure it out, I'll let you know. For now, it will remain a mystery."

And we watch the sky as Sozin's Comet passes out of sight, the rush of energy that Zuko and I had felt earlier leaving us. And even though I probably shouldn't, I actually miss feeling like that. Not because of the power, but because of the feeling of warmth and light. And chances are, I'll never get to feel the power of the comet ever again.


	55. The Dawn of Peace

A few days later, Aang and the others join us in the Fire Nation, everyone taking time off in order to recuperate and heal from injuries. Except, apparently, Katara and Suki, who come to find me out of the blue. And Suki is the one who drags me over to a familiar lump of fur. "Come on, you're coming with us. We're having a girls' morning out."

That confuses me a little. "Wait, why? We just won a war. Is this really the time for us to be having a day out?"

Katara rolls her eyes and hushes me. "Quiet, no arguing. There's going to be a huge meeting later between delegates from the different nations. So we've got to make sure that everyone looks their best. That includes you."

I bite my lip. "But…I'm not going."

Suki is shocked. "What? But you have to go! Everyone's going to be there!"

I glance at the floor. "But I'm only just barely sticking around until it's time to leave. I was planning on flying off into the sunset with Aang, to go on whatever crazy trip he plans next."

Katara and Suki look at each other, then Katara grins. "Well, too bad. Aang and Zuko specifically said that you had to be there. And since everyone's going to be in nice clothes, that means you will be as well."

I groan as they push me onto Appa, and take off towards Ember Island. They're really determined to stick me in something pretty. They waste no time in heading straight for the old palace, bypassing the front entrance, and flying straight into the opened courtyard. They must have figured out how to open the glass panels while we were in the archives.

* * *

Once down, Katara and Suki drag me off towards the living quarters that I found during our first trip here. Katara looks around curiously. "Alright, now which of those rooms did you find your clothes in?"

I sigh and roll my eyes. "All the way down the hall, on the left."

"Thank you!" And the two of them pull me into the room, and pushing me over towards the bed. Katara starts shuffling in the closet. "Alright, so from what Aang said, we should try to find you a dress. After all, you're going to be seen by a crowd, so you should look your best."

I sit down on the bed and huff impatiently. "I was actually hoping not to be seen. Remember, if people find out about me, it's only going to cause trouble for Zuko. And while I'm all for trouble, that's not what the world needs right now."

Katara glares at me. "Ciara, just shut up and let us pick out your clothes. You're going whether you want to or not. Because if you don't show up, the guys are going to come looking for you with a search party."

I pale at the thought of them actually coming to look for me. Because considering what I said last time about disappearing, I wouldn't put it past them to pull out all the stops and go to both poles to look for me. And then, they would probably drag me back kicking and screaming. "Fine…"

"Good. Now, what colors should we pick out?" She looks through the closet. "Wow, there's a lot of white and gold in here. What do you think, Suki? Should we stick with the white, red and gold color scheme?"

"Yeah, I think that she pulls it off well." Suki looks back at me. "It matches her hair and eyes well, and it flatters her pale skin."

Katara pulls a long white and red dress with gold sashes and gold embroidery out of the closet. "This is perfect! Now all we have to do is find some jewelry and put your hair up!"

I groan, but don't resist much as they lead me over to another section of the palace. And it turns out to be a bath area, already filled with warm water. I take one look at it and realize what they're planning. "No, absolutely not. I am not stripping in front of you two."

Katara rolls her eyes. "Come on, we're all girls here. Besides, we're all going to take a bath. After all this fighting, we need a little spa day."

She has a point, but I grumble while we get undressed. My real problem with this is revealing the scars on my back, as they're something that I would rather keep hidden, even from my friends. But, since they're not going to take no for an answer, I suck it up and toss my clothes into a pile and slide into the water.

The water smells really good, and when I sniff the air, I can smell perfume. "Hey Katara…why is there perfume in the water?"

"I got it at that abbey we stayed at eight months ago." She slides into the water, making small waves with her waterbending. "I thought that pouring it into the bath would be relaxing."

"Ooh…good call…" Suki joins us, and floats around in the warm water. "Definitely relaxing…"

* * *

We soak in the bath for a while, maybe even as long as an hour, before Katara gets out and dries herself off. "Okay, time to get changed and have some fun with your hair."

I sigh and climb out of the bath, drying myself off in an instant, and sending steam billowing up around me. "Fine, you win. Do whatever you like, I don't care anymore." I pull on a robe and fasten the belt tightly.

"Good, now let's go!" Katara pulls on her own robe and pulls me over to an adjoined room, where the dress is waiting, along with some makeup. I shudder at the thought of having that on my face, but I already said that they could do whatever they want, so I just sit down in front of a mirror, shut up, and amuse myself by playing with some small fire figures in the palms of my hands.

Katara brushes my hair, and starts braiding some of it, twisting it up and pinning it there with small golden pins. She leaves my bangs hanging around my face, and leaves the back hanging down in curly waves. "You know, you should put more effort into your hair. I bet, if you put a little more effort into styling it, it wouldn't look like such a mess every morning."

I scoff irritably. "It's a mess every morning because I don't sleep with a braid in anymore. I lost my only ribbon a long time ago, and I haven't replaced it since."

"Hm…well I think that Zuko would really like seeing you wearing your hair better." Katara coos in my ear, which means that she knows.

My eye twitches. "Did Aang tell you?"

"Yes, he did."

I growl irritably. "That little…I swear, he's way too nosy for his own good." Then, I feel a little weird. "Besides, I'm not trying to impress Zuko. Why should I?"

Katara tugs on my hair, sliding my tiara into it and twisting the gold chains into my braids. "Maybe because I've seen how he looks at you? Ciara, he's crazy about you, so you should at least give him something to look at."

I flush a heated scarlet. But I decide that if I'm embarrassed, I shouldn't be the only one. "Well, what about Aang? Are you going to dress up and give him something to look at?"

I can see in the mirror that Katara is as red as I was. "Uh…well…should I?"

I consider it for a moment, then smile. "Nah, you're perfect the way you usually are. I can't imagine that Aang would prefer to see you in a fancy dress. In fact, it probably makes you seem less approachable. I mean, he's kissed you while you're all sweaty before, so I highly doubt that a dress is going to matter."

She looks irritated, but that doesn't stop her from finishing with my hair. "There, done. Now get into that dress. Me and Suki have to change as well."

I roll my eyes and do as I'm told once she leaves. I take off the robe, put on some underclothes, and slip on the dress, being careful not to mess up Katara's hard work on my hair. But once the dress is on, I find one problem, the ribbons are hard to tie together. "Uh…Suki! Katara! I need a little help in here!"

The two of them come rushing in, Suki first. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

I turn to the two of them ruefully. "I can't tie up the dress."

They stare at me, and then they start laughing. Katara wipes tears from her eyes and walks over to me. "Alright, Your Highness, I'll help you tie your dress." And she slide the ribbons around, tying them behind me, and at my sides. "You really don't wear dresses much, do you?"

"Nope…" And it's the truth. "They're not very practical for running around in, so I haven't worn many lately. This is…the third dress I've worn in the past year. There was that dress from the North Pole, that one that I wore when we were at the Earth King's palace, and this one."

Katara finishes tying up my dress, and I turn around to see that the two of them are already changed and ready to go. Suki points back out to the courtyard. "Come on, let's go! The coronation is going to start soon!"

I don't have much of a choice but to go with them as they push me into Appa's saddle. And while Katara flies us to the city, Suki gets to work on putting makeup on me. One of my biggest nightmares, honestly. And her makeup is pretty thick, since it's her warrior makeup. Thankfully, she goes easy on my face and doesn't apply too much.

* * *

Soon, we're flying into the city, and Katara lands Appa right in the middle of the square. Suki slides down his tail first. "I'm going to find the other Kiyoshi Warriors! I'll see you two later!" And she runs off into the crowd, looking for the identical green uniforms of her friends.

Katara slides down Appa's tail next. "I saw Sokka and my dad, so I'm going to go find them!" then she turns back to me. "And be sure to come down later. Trust me, if you don't Aang is going to come looking for you."

I roll my eyes and smile. "Alright, just go find your Dad. I'll come down when I'm good and ready."

I watch her run off into the crowd, and I stay put on Appa for a little while longer. But I start to see some familiar faces in the crowd. Haru and his dad, the swampbenders, The Boulder and The Hippo, Pipsqueak and The Duke.

Sokka finds his way over to me on Appa, and grins up at me. "Come on, you're part of this as well." Then he looks at my dress. "Wow, Katara and Suki really did a number on you. I hope your boyfriend likes it."

"He's not my boyfriend." And it's true. I'm not quite sure what we have going on. And it's not going to matter for now, since there's going to be a lot of cleaning up for all of us to do.

Sokka shrugs. "Alright, suit yourself. But at least come down. We've got spots up at the front. Honor seats for Team Avatar, and all that. Aang and Zuko are still inside. They'll be coming out soon for the coronation."

I sigh. "Fine…" I stand up carefully, and move out of the saddle and down Appa's tail, being careful not to trip on the hem of my dress. "Jeez, this thing is so hard to move in. Why couldn't I just wear traveling clothes?"

"Dunno, but Aang and Zuko insisted that the girls dress you up. Don't ask me why, I don't follow that kind of stuff." He points over to the front of the crowd, as everyone is starting to line up. "Come on, let's get to our places."

I nod slowly and follow him, not as quickly as I'd like though, since I'm still trying not to trip on the dress. And as we pass, Katara and Toph join us. Suki stays with the Kiyoshi warriors, so we draw just a little less attention. But as we walk to the front, we get a lot of stares from both our friends, as well as the people here that we've never even met. And more than a few of those stares are directed at me. _Damn it, Katara. Why did you have to go and stick me in a dress? This is the most humiliating thing I've ever done!_

But I try to control my mental fuming as the crowd settles down. Up on the steps of the palace, the sages, and some servants are preparing the last details of the coronation. It looks like this is going to be quite the event.

A gong sounds, and from the palace, emerges Zuko. And when everyone gets a good look at the soon to be Fire Lord, the crowd goes nuts with cheers and applause. But he raises his hand for quiet. "Please. The real hero is the Avatar." He motions behind him, and Aang emerges from the palace to stand beside Zuko. And Zuko looks so confident now, such a change from when he was first with us. "Today, this war is finally over!" The crowd cheers again, but Zuko isn't finished. "I promised my uncle that I would restore the honor of the Fire Nation. And I will. The road ahead of us is challenging. A hundred years of fighting has left the world scarred and divided. But with the Avatar's help, we can get it back on the right path, and begin an era of love and peace."

And as is custom, Zuko kneels for the head Fire Sage. And he places the flared headpiece of the Fire Lord on Zuko's head. "All hail Fire Lord Zuko!" and the cheers there are deafening.

But as I expect the coronation to finish, I turn away from the crowd and plan to make my way back over to Appa. But a whooshing sound behind me, and a hand on my shoulder stops me. "And where do you think you're going? There's a reason that we wanted you all dressed up."

I turn to see Aang, smiling at me, and I smile back, a little nervously. "Wasn't it just so Zuko could ogle me?"

Aang holds a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter. "No. Zuko's got something that he needs to say to you."

"In front of a crowd?" That sounds strange to me. If he's planning on saying it in front of a crowd, it makes me wonder what kind of crazy stunt he's planning on pulling. "Fine…but if he embarrasses me, Fire Lord or not, I'm going to knock that gold flame out of his top-knot."

Aang laughs a bit. "Fair enough. Now come on, he's waiting."

I follow Aang up the steps to where Zuko is waiting, conscious of the hundreds of eyes on me, probably wondering what the hell I'm doing up here, and who I am. And once I'm close enough to Zuko, I whisper under my breath. "This had better be good, Katara almost forced me into this dress because of you."

He smiles at me. "Oh, it will be, trust me." And he raises his voice for the whole crowd to hear. "The first step in restoring the honor of the Fire Nation, is restoring something stolen from you. What my great grandfather did to your family was wrong, and while there's nothing I can do to change a century of suffering, I can at least return one thing to you."

My eyes widen as an inkling of what he's doing dawns on me. "You don't mean…?"

He nods. "First, I'm overturning the exile imposed on your family. And with that out of the way…" He surprises me by placing his right arm over his left, the same gesture that I made in my family's palace. "I declare you free to reclaim your birthright. Ruling alone would be difficult, so like my uncle said, I'll be turning to a friend for help." But the twinkle in his eye says that the word friend is being used liberally. "The islands are yours to do with as you please, Princess Ciara of the Eastern Isles."

Hearing this, I almost feel like I'm going to cry. But I hold it in, and respond with a smile, and a returning of that gesture of highest respect. "In that case, I thank you. I will do what I can to ensure that the Fire Nation will benefit from this…arrangement." And I exchange that smile with him, fully aware that he's just played a card that no one expected him to.

And unexpectedly, with the conclusion of that announcement, there is cheering in the crowd. And mirroring Zuko, I turn to face the crowd. Some golden flames swirl around me, proof of my happiness. Finally, I'll have a real home, the place where my ancestors lived, a place that I can make my own, without fear or anger or unhappiness.

Now, I'm free.


	56. The Jasmine Dragon

To celebrate and relax a little, after such a tiring war and coronation, and getting things set up for repairing all the damage that's been caused, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki, Toph and I take a trip to Ba Sing Se, where we pay a visit to the Jasmine Dragon, Iroh's tea shop.

Zuko may be the Fire Lord now, but today, he's the one serving us our tea, while Iroh plays the tsungi horn in the corner, and Sokka works at a desk, painting a picture of all of us. I think that this is probably the best way for us all to relax. No worries, no pressure, and no need to observe any status. It's as though the Jasmine Dragon is the one place in the world where it doesn't matter that I'm a princess, or that Zuko is the Fire Lord, or Aang is the Avatar, that Toph is from a rich noble family, or that Katara and Sokka are the chief's children from the South Pole, or that Suki is the leader of the Kiyoshi Warriors. Here, we can all just be a bunch of teenagers, hanging out with our friends.

I lounge around at a table, eating a berry tart, when Zuko comes around with a tray of cups. He picks one off the tray and hands it to me. "Here, raspberry tea, sweet and sour, just the way you like it."

I take a sip and hum happily. "Mmm…that's some good tea." Then, I get a mischievous little idea. "Hey Zuko, do you want a taste?" I smirk at him as I take another sip.

Zuko, who isn't the greatest when it comes to taking hints, actually gets it this time. He smirks a little as he presses a kiss to my lips, slipping himself a little taste of my tea. "Hm, that's some good tea. Maybe I should make it more often."

But just as he leans in again, Aang looks over at us from his spot on the floor, playing with Momo. "Hey, can I get some tea too?"

I sigh in disappointment and turn back to my teacup, glaring at Aang over the rim. Zuko walks over and leans down to give Aang a cup of tea. I swear this kid is such a pain. Always interrupting just when it's getting good. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"Oh, don't worry, I'm sure that there are plenty of times where I wasn't around to stop you two." He says it so bluntly that it makes me want to scream. "It's just fun to interrupt you two just when it's about to get good." And I reiterate, this kid is pure evil.

Zuko continues around the room, handing some tea to Toph, as well as to Katara and Suki, who are sitting over at another table, talking about fairly normal topics. Normal…something that we haven't had in a long time. And a taste of normal is perfect for us right now, since we're a group of the least normal kids ever to roam the earth.

Finally, Sokka gets mad at Zuko. "Zuko, stop moving! I'm trying to capture the moment!" He goes back to wiping his brush on the page. "I wanted to do a painting, so we always remember the good times together."

"That's very thoughtful of you, Sokka." Katara goes over to look at her brother's work, and she's unimpressed to say the least. "Wait! Why did you give me Momo's ears?"

"Those are your hair loopies!" Sokka is trying desperately to defend his terrible painting skills.

Zuko goes over to check it out next. "At least you don't look like a bor-cupine. My hair is not that spiky!"

I take a trip over there to see what damage he did to me. And I feel like I'm looking at it upside down. "Did you put my tiara on my back?"

"And why did you paint me firebending?" Admittedly, the portrayal of Suki makes the least sense. She's from the Earth Kingdom, so she's hardly going to have a talent for firebending.

Sokka shrugs. "I thought it looked more exciting that way." Momo jumps onto the desk and burbles at Sokka, who takes that as a challenge. "Oh, you think you can do a better job, Momo?"

Iroh gets a look at the painting as well. "Hey, my belly's not that big anymore, I really trimmed down."

"Well I think you all look perfect!" And coming from a blind girl, that's a pretty funny joke.

I take another look at the painting and shake my head. "Sokka, please, never become an artist. I don't think that the world can handle your art."

But a sight outside catches my attention, and I quietly sidle away from the table. Set against the beautiful sunset, Aang and Katara are kissing. It's so cute that I can't even bear to interrupt them. I guess that makes me more of a romantic than Aang, who insists on interrupting me and Zuko every chance he gets.

I smile at the two of them. _I knew it…those two are definitely going to be together forever…_ And I smile like an idiot, thinking about how much fun it's going to be to tease the two of them. They've teased me for so long. And soon, it's going to be my turn to have some fun.

For now, music, tea and sweets, and the company of friends and family…a good end to a very long journey…

 **For those of you who are interested, I will be getting to work on a sequel, dealing with the aftermath of the war. I'll be looking at the books and figuring out if there's anything there I can use. But it's basically going to look at after the main series, onward, with a lot of fun little bits and pieces straight out of my brain.**

 **And to those of you who wanted more romance, sorry, but I had Aang basically running interference the whole time, because it just seemed to me like something he would do.**

 **Stay Flamin'**

 **Sorry, I had to... :)**


	57. End Note

Hey everyone! For those of you who follow my stories, know that the first chapter of the sequel is finally up. I got inspired enough to finally buckle down and write it. Well, I've written some other parts of the story already, I just wasn't sure how to kick it off. It's going to be a lot slower going, and I apologize for that. But I hope to make some good progress on it during my spring break.

The sequel is called Heart of Light, which I'm sure many of you can understand if you've read all the way through this story. I warn you, it is rated M. There's nothing to warrant that rating in it in the first chapter, but it's going to need that rating later. Anyone who's seen the Legend of Korra knows who Izumi is, I presume. Well...that kind of thing doesn't just come out of thin air, you know.

I've also gone over the whole story and broken up the time skips and fixed as many of the typos as I could find. You know, to make things flow better.

Anyway, thanks for reading!


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